The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. An individual with a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft) has been considered the largest reliably recorded. [8]

whale shark, (Rhincodon typus), gigantic but harmless shark (family Rhincodontidae) that is the largest living fish. Whale sharks are found in marine environments worldwide but mainly in tropical oceans.

Today we're diving deep into the world of whale sharks, the absolute giants of the ocean. We're talking about fish that can grow longer than a school bus and live over 100 years!

The name “Whale Shark” comes from its size, which rivals that of whales, and its filter-feeding diet, combined with its classification as a shark. They are solitary creatures for much of their lives, only congregating in large numbers at specific feeding grounds.

Off the coast of Venezuela, we encounter the whale shark - the biggest of all the fish in the ocean. In this clip, a shoal of bait fish are using the whale shark as a protective shield.

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest shark, and indeed largest of any fishes alive today. They feed on plankton and travel large distances to find enough food to sustain their huge size, and to reproduce. Whale sharks are found in all the tropical oceans of the world.

A whale shark the size of a school bus swims slowly near the surface of the ocean. Its wide mouth is open, like an enormous net scooping up whatever happens to be around—mostly small fish, fish...

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) isn’t just another fish swimming around our oceans. It’s literally a living fossil to nature’s incredible diversity and a species that deserves our respect, protection, and fascination.

Whale sharks are found in open tropical waters above 21ºc and have two distinct subpopulations found in the Atlantic ocean, and the Indo-Pacific. These benign behemoths spend their lives on the move, migrating thousands of miles in an endless search for food.

Read on to find out about the biggest sharks in the world. How big are whale sharks? The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest fish in the world. It’s found in tropical and temperate oceans, in both deep water and coastal areas.