WHALE SHARK

Photographer Andy Murch

View all available Whale Shark Pictures in the SHARKIVE

Common Names: Whale shark.

Latin Name: Rhincodon Typus

Family: Rhincodontidae

Identification: Enormous size (worlds largest fish). Body scalloped (with two distinct ridges running from behind head along each flank into caudal fin. Pattern of white spots and indistinct lines on grey dorsum. Ventrum white or pale. First dorsal large. Caudal large. Mouth terminal and often open when observed feeding on plankton.

Size: Maximum length 18m (unconfirmed) reliably to 16m.

Habitat: Pelagic. Comes into reef areas when food supply is abundant e.g. coral spawning.

Abundance and distribution: Circumtropical except Mediterranean.

Behavior: Usually seen swimming with mouth agape in feeding mode. Little is known about the Whale sharks biology or migratory patterns.  

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. Previously thought to be oviparous due to an eggcase containing a Whale shark embryo dredge from the bottom of the sea. This perception changed in 1995 when a Taiwanese fishing boat harpooned an 8m female containing 300 embryos. Whale sharks have been observed at Ningaloo performing figure 8 maneuvers while nose to tail. It has been speculated that this may be some form of courting behavior.

Observations:

Photographs: Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia.

Similar species:

Reaction to divers: Whale sharks generally move away from the noise creatred by scuba bubbles and from physical contact. Getting too close to a whale shark often causes it to dive and 'riding' the sharks interferes with their natural behavior and should be discoraged even if local rules are very liberal. The best encounters tend to be on scuba.

Diving logistics: Operators around the world run Whale shark encounters. Some use spotter planes while others rely on the sharks returning to well known feeding sites. Ningaloo Reef encounters are very predicable and the customers generally get a few sharks each day during the season. For more information on Ningaloo go to the Exmouth / Ningaloo page in the Shark diving hotspots section of Elasmodiver or follow the link here.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

Further reading:

       Reef Sharks and Rays of the World. Scott W. Michael. Sea Challengers.

       Sharks and Rays - Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann. IKAN.  

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