Poles & OceansEndangered
Whale shark
Rhincodon typus
The biggest fish in the world. Even so, it only eats tiny plankton.
- Weight
- Up to 20,000 kg
- Size
- Up to 12 m long
- Lifespan
- 80 years or more
- Top speed
- About 5 km/h
- Diet
- Plankton and krill
How heavy is that?
As heavy as 500 kids. That's too many to draw, so here are 200.
Where it lives
Three things to know
- Its mouth can be 1.5 m wide.
- Each whale shark has its own pattern of spots, like a fingerprint.
- It is harmless to people: divers can swim beside it.
Compare with…
- Weight
- Whale shark20,000 kgA 10-year-old kid40 kgThe whale shark weighs about 500× as much as the kid
- Size
- Whale shark12 mA 10-year-old kid1.4 mThe whale shark is about 9× as big as the kid
- Top speed
- Whale shark5 km/hA 10-year-old kid20 km/hThe kid is about 4× as fast as the whale shark
- Lifespan
- Whale shark80 yrsA 10-year-old kid80 yrsAbout the same
