Basking Shark

ID points

• The open mouth is almost as wide as the body
• Gill slits extremely long, nearly encircling the neck
• Swims slowly at the surface filter feeding, teeth tiny

Basics

Family

Cetorhinidae

Length

6.0–10.0 m

Depth

0-200 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic · Temperate & polar · Open ocean

Distribution

Surface of temperate coasts and open ocean worldwide

Habitat

Temperate surface waters

Diet

Plankton

Easily confused with

Fin WhaleLower jaw white on the right side and dark grey on the left, asymmetricMinke WhaleA striking white band across the middle of the pectoral finHumpback WhaleExtremely long pectoral fins, close to a third of the body length

Fun fact

The basking shark reaches 12 metres and is the second largest fish in the world. It cruises along passively with its 1 metre wide mouth held open, filtering roughly 1500 tonnes of seawater an hour to collect plankton.