THE WHALE SHARK
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SHARK
Infographic: Literature Cited
August 2013
IS IT A WHALE OR A SHARK?
It is a shark. They are commonly known as whale sharks because of their colossal size and the way that
they feed. All sharks are fish, unlike whales which are mammals.
CAN WHALE SHARKS ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOW YOU?
No. Although its mouth can be over 1m meter (3.28 ft) wide, its throat isn’t big enough to pass large
objects.
DO WHALE SHARKS BITE?
No. Whale sharks do have over 3,000 teeth, but they are rarely used. They look like Velcro and are too
small to cause any damage.
WHALE SHARK VS WHALE
Both animals filter feed for plankton and small fish.
THE WHALE SHARK
 Species Rhincodon typus
 Shark (a fish)
 Cold blooded
 Skeleton of cartilage
 Breathes through gills
 Mouth has over 300 rows of tiny teeth
o Use gills to filter food from water
st
 1 and 2nd dorsal fin; pectoral, anal, and pelvic fins; caudal fin, vertical
o Swim by undulating side to side
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo
For more general information on whale sharks visit Arkive: Whale Shark1 or Animal Diversity Web:
Rhincodon typus.2
BALEEN WHALES
 Many species
 Mammal
 Warm blooded
 Skeleton of bone
 Breathes through blowhole
 Mouth full of baleen
o Use baleen to filter food from water
 Dorsal fin; pectoral fins; fluke, horizontal
o Swim by undulating up and down
For more information on baleen whales visit FAO: Mysticeti 3 or Tree of Life: Mysticeti.4
WHALE SHARK FAST FACTS
The whale shark can grow up to 12 meters (39 ft) long. 1
The world’s biggest fish, whale sharks can be as large as a school bus.
The deepest recorded whale shark dive is 979.5 meters (3146 ft). (Graham, et al. 2005)5
That’s more than 3 times the height of the Eiffel Tower.
Whale sharks are found in tropical and temperate waters around the world, in shallow coastal water and
the open ocean. While whale sharks are mostly solitary animals, they are known to feed in large groups.1
This behavior has been documented in Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua, the most marine biodiverse
place on Earth. (Mangubhai, et al. 2012)6
Besides whale sharks, there are only 2 other species of shark that filter feed.
Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios)
 Size: 4-5 meters long (13-16 ft)
 Range: Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans
 There have only been 17 recorded sightings of the shark since 1976
Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
 Size: 6-9 meters long (19-29 ft)
 Range: In cool and temperate waters around the world
 The shark gets its name from ‘basking’ in surface waters
To learn more about these other filter-feeding shark species visit Arkive.7, 8
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo
Whale shark gills can filter particles as small as 1 millimeter (.04 in), 9 about the width of the tip of a
pencil.
Macroplankton shown at approx. 2000x actual size. Macroplankton actual size.
To learn more about the different types of plankton and their role in the ocean ecosystem visit
NOAA10 and MarineBio.11
Whale sharks are ovoviviparous: young hatch from eggs inside their mother and are then birthed live. 1
Newborn whale sharks are called pups. They are born 46-60 centimeters (18-20 in) long. (Rowat, et al.
2008). 12
PROTECTING WHALE SHARKS
PROBLEM:
Whale sharks are valuable to humanity and the economy, yet are being exploited worldwide.
 Highly valued in Asian markets as meat – known as the “tofu shark”
 Many killed for fins to use in soup
 Fins are prized as displays
To learn more about the threats facing whale sharks, as well as the measures that are being taken to
protect them, visit the IUCN Red List 13 and PEW Environment.14
SOLUTION:
Enhance current protective measures and create new policies that curb exploitation.
ENHANCE ECO-TOURISM
There are places where tourists can swim with whale sharks – a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Eco-tourism protects the species and helps local economies.
Revenue per year in the top places for whale shark tourism (in US dollars)
 Belize - $3.7 million (Graham 2004) 15
 Seychelles - $4.99 million (Rowat and Engelhardt 2007) 16
 West Australia - $12 million (Martin, et al. 2006) 17
Learn more about shark ecotourism by visiting Shark Savers: Dollars and Sense. 18
BAN SHARK FINNING
 Finning involves cutting off a shark’s fins and throwing the rest of the body back to die. Creating
legislation that bans finning is critical to helping preserve all sharks. The US and EU recently
closed loopholes in laws that prohibit this wasteful practice.
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo
For more information on shark finning, see Sharkwater: Shark Finning Facts. 19
CREATE SHARK SANCTUARIES
 The establishment of shark sanctuaries in places such as the Marshall Islands and the Bahamas
protects sharks by prohibiting all commercial shark fishing, allowing populations to recover and
improving the health of the whole ecosystem.
Visit PEW Environment 20 or Shark Savers 21 to learn more about shark sanctuaries.
Sources:
1. Arkive. “Whale Shark.” Web. http://www.arkive.org/whale-shark/rhincodon-typus/
2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web: “Rhincodon typus.“ Web.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Rhincodon_typus/
3. FAO. Marine Mammals of the World: “Mysticeti.” Web.
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/t0725e/t0725e07.pdf
4. Milinkovitch, Michel C and Olivier Lambert. Tree of Life web project: “Mysticeti.” Web.
http://tolweb.org/Mysticeti/16024
5. Graham, RT, Roberts, CM and Smart, JCR. Diving behaviour of whale sharks in relation to a
predictable food pulse. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 2006. pp.109-116. ISSN 1742-5689
http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1322/
6. Mangubhai, Sangeeta, Mark V. Erdmann, Joanne R. Wilson, Christine L. Huffard, Ferdiel Ballamu,
Nur Ismu Hidayat, Creusa Hitipeuw, Muhammad E. Lazuardi, Muhajir, Defy Pada, Gandi Purba,
Christovel Rotinsulu, Lukas Rumetna, Kartika Sumolang, Wen Wen. Papuan Bird’s Head
Seascape: Emerging threats and challenges in the global center of marine biodiversity. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, Vol.64:11, November 2012, Pages 2279-2295, ISSN 0025-326X,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.07.024
7. Arkive. “Megamouth shark.” Web. http://www.arkive.org/megamouth-shark/megachasmapelagios/
8. Arkive. “Basking shark.” Web. http://www.arkive.org/basking-shark/cetorhinus-maximus/
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo
9. Campagna, C; Short, FT; Polidoro, BA; McManus, R; Collette, BB; Pilcher, NJ; Sadovy de
Mitcheson, Y; Stuart, SN; Carpenter, KE. Gulf of Mexico oil blowout increases risks to globally
threatened species. BioScience, 2011, v. 61 n. 5, p. 393-397. ISSN 1525-3244.
http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/174100/2/content.pdf?accept=1
10. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. “Phytoplankton.” Web.
http://nerrs.noaa.gov/doc/siteprofile/acebasin/html/biores/phyto/pytext.htm
11. MarineBio Conservation Society. MarineBio.org: “Zooplankton.” Web.
http://marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton.asp
12. Rowat, D., M.A. Gore, B. B. Baloch, Z. Islam, E. Ahmad, Q. M. Ali, R. M. Culloch, S. Hameed, S.
A. Hasnain, B. Hussain, S. Kiani, J. Siddiqui, R. F. Ormond, N. Henn, M. Khan. New records of
neonatal and juvenile whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) from the Indian Ocean. Environmental
Biology of Fishes. July 2008, Volume 82, Issue 3, pp 215-219. ISSN 1573-5133. doi
10.1007/s10641-007-9280-z http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10641-007-9280-z#page1
13. Norman, B. 2005. Rhincodon typus. In: IUCN 2013. www.iucnredlist.org. IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19488/0
14. PEW Environment. “Navigating Global Shark Conservation Measures: Current Measures and
Gaps.” Web. http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/navigating-global-sharkconservation-measures-current-measures-and-gaps-85899403511
15. Graham, R.T. 2004. Global Whale Shark Tourism: A "Golden Goose" of Sustainable Lucrative
Tourism. Shark News16, (October)
16. Rowat D, and Engelhardt U. 2007. Seychelles: A case study of community involvement in the
development of whale shark ecotourism and its socio-economic impact. Fisheries Research 84:
109–113.
http://pcusey.sc/Sustainable%20Land%20Management%20Project/Training%20Course%20on%
20Environmental%20Economics%20%20Nov%202008/Training%20Materials/rowat_engelhgardt_2007.pdf
17. Martin, R.A. and Hakeem, A.A.A. 2006. Development of a Sustainable Shark Diving Ecotourism
Industry in the Maldives: Challenges and Opportunities. Maldives Marine Research Bulletin, 8:
2-36. http://thimaaveshi.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/volume8.pdf
18. Shark Savers. “Ecotourism: Dollars and Sense.” Web.
https://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/the-value-of-sharks/sharks-and-ecotourism/
19. Sharkwater. “Education – Shark Finning Facts.” Web.
http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm
20. PEW Environment. “Enforcing Laws of the World’s Shark Sanctuaries.” Web.
http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/other-resources/enforcing-laws-of-the-worldsshark-sanctuaries-85899447434
21. Shark Savers. “Shark Sanctuaries.” Web. https://www.sharksavers.org/en/our-programs/sharksanctuaries/about
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo
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August 2013
THE WHALE SHARK: An infographic by the One World One Ocean Campaign.
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/whalesharkinfo