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.

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.

Related shark pages

These links are meant to help readers continue through related species, not force extra clicks.

Silhouette study emphasizing the broad filter-feeding body and spotted pattern reference; not to scale.
Rhincodon typus

Whale Shark

The planet's largest fish, but a gentle filter feeder.

18.0 m maxEndangered