Species page
Basking Shark
Huge open-mouthed filter feeder of cooler seas.
Cetorhinus maximus
Endangered
Overview
The basking shark is a giant plankton feeder of cool, productive seas. Its size can be surprising, but its behavior is usually gentle and unhurried, with the open mouth serving as a drifting sieve rather than a weapon. This enormous shark has a long conical snout, huge gill openings that nearly encircle the head, a large triangular dorsal fin, and a cavernous mouth used for filter feeding. The basking shark ranges through temperate and some cool subtropical waters in both hemispheres. It often appears where plankton is concentrated near fronts, headlands, or shelf breaks.
Although often seen near the surface, it uses a wide depth range in coastal and oceanic waters. Seasonal movements can carry it between surface feeding grounds and deeper offshore habitat.
The second-largest fish alive.
Why it matters: It is the second-largest living fish after the whale shark.
Common nameBasking Shark
Scientific nameCetorhinus maximus
FamilyCetorhinidae
OrderLamniformes
Max length12.0 m
Depth range0 to 1260 meters
ConservationEndangered
RegionTemperate oceans worldwide
DietZooplankton
HabitatSurface waters and offshore migration routes
Why it stands outEnormous gill rakers for filtering plankton
What this shark is
This enormous shark has a long conical snout, huge gill openings that nearly encircle the head, a large triangular dorsal fin, and a cavernous mouth used for filter feeding.
Where it lives
The basking shark ranges through temperate and some cool subtropical waters in both hemispheres. It often appears where plankton is concentrated near fronts, headlands, or shelf breaks.
Although often seen near the surface, it uses a wide depth range in coastal and oceanic waters. Seasonal movements can carry it between surface feeding grounds and deeper offshore habitat.
How it differs from similar sharks
Enormous gill rakers for filtering plankton
Compare it against Whale Shark.
Why it is notable
Basking sharks are harmless filter feeders. The larger human story is historical hunting and ongoing concern over collisions, entanglement, and slow recovery.
Species-level taxonomy was verified from Sharkipedia's current species list and taxonomy workbook. In this pass, the narrative fields are cautious family-level placeholders synthesized from broad shark references, chiefly the FAO Sharks of the World catalogue, because a stronger multi-source species-level synthesis was not assembled here without risking invented detail. Replace this with a direct species-level synthesis before publication in the app.
Related shark pages
These links are meant to help readers continue through related species, not force extra clicks.
Whale Shark
The planet's largest fish, but a gentle filter feeder.
18.0 m maxEndangered