Whale sharks are not only the largest living fish species, but also the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate! The average size of an adult is a little over 30 feet and weighing 20,000 pounds. The largest ever reliably and accurately recorded whale shark was posted in 2001 with a female measuring 62 feet long!

They are all dark grey with white bellies; the grey to white spots and stripes are unique to each individual.

Whale sharks only swim about 3 mph since they use the majority of their lower body to swim instead of just their tail like other sharks.

The whale shark is a huge filter-feeding shark found in all tropical and warm-temperate seas, in waters rarely below 70°F. Even though they can dive to depths as deep as 5,900 feet, whale sharks prefer the shallower parts of the open ocean such as lagoon entrances or river mouths.

Their primary diet is plankton, but they also eat shrimp, fish eggs, small squid, and more.

Unlike other sharks, a whale shark’s mouth is at the front of the head instead of the underside. Being one of three shark species that filter feed, whale sharks have two ways to consume food; they either swim forward with their five-foot-wide mouth open or by opening and closing their mouth causing large amounts of water come in.

All water moves through the filter pads leaving larger substances at the back of the throat.

Female whale sharks are known as ovoviviparous, which means the pups develop inside the mother, so she gives birth to live young. Amazingly, they can be pregnant with up to 300 pups at a time and the mother whale shark gives birth to a steady stream of pups throughout her life. For such large creatures, the pups are born only measuring 15-24 inches long. After 25 years, they will leave their family to go venture on their own.

Whale sharks get their name from being as large as some whales and from being filter-feeders like the humpback whale or blue whale.

They are usually solitary but have been seen migrating in mass groups during different parts of the year. Scientists believe this could be in relation to plankton blooms or changes in water temperature. In fact, over a 3-year time period, a single whale shark can travel over 8,000 miles!