The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate.
Whale shark mouths can contain over 300 rows of tiny teeth and 20 filter pads which it uses to filter feed. Unlike many other sharks, whale sharks’ mouths are located at the front of the head rather than on the underside of the head.
The whale shark is the largest non-cetacean animal in the world. The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas. The fish is primarily pelagic, and can be found in both coastal and oceanic habitats living in the open sea but not in the greater depths of the ocean, although it is known to occasionally dive to depths of as much as 1,900 metres (6,200 ft).
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Chondrichthyes
- Superorder: Selachimorpha
- Order: Orectolobiformes
- Family: Rhincodontidae
- Genus: Rhincodon
- Species: R. typus