Sharks Codexery

Basking shark

The second-largest fish, a gentle filter feeder that basks at the surface.

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Basking shark

Ian Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0

Three shark species consume plankton: the whale shark, the megamouth shark, and the basking shark.[1] The name "basking shark" comes from this animal's tendency to feed while floating at the surface, which makes it look like it is sunbathing.[2]

A Basking Shark beaten by the northerly winds - geograph.org.uk
A Basking Shark beaten by the northerly winds - geograph.org.uk. Image: Des Colhoun · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderLamniformes
  7. FamilyCetorhinidae
  8. GenusCetorhinus
  9. SpeciesCetorhinus maximus

Named by (Gunnerus, 1765)

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Basking shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105837 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Endangered (EN)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN▲ this species
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Basking shark and a personA 10 m long basking shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.10 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 10 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Basking shark

Where the basking shark has been recorded

Where the basking shark has been recorded111 mapped locations from 38,977 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Bay of FundyBay of Fundy

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (38,977 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 17 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 2 isolated far-off records not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

Temperate oceans worldwide host the migratory basking shark, a species found across the globe.[2] Filter-feeding in this shark is made possible by a very large mouth and well-developed gill rakers.[2] Each row of teeth in this species can contain about 100 very small teeth, each with a single conical cusp.[2] Relative to its body weight, the basking shark possesses the smallest brain of any shark, which matches its generally inactive way of life.[2]

A Basking Shark meets its fate - geograph.org.uk
A Basking Shark meets its fate - geograph.org.uk. Image: Des Colhoun · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Satellite tagging has demonstrated that basking sharks spend the winter in waters over the continental shelf as well as in deeper areas.[3] These sharks can be solitary or form small groups.[3] The tagged sharks stayed at depths of 200 to 1000 meters for several weeks and swam across the equator to reach Brazil.[4][5]

A Basking Shark north of the Covesea beach. - geograph.org.uk
A Basking Shark north of the Covesea beach. - geograph.org.uk. Image: Des Colhoun · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What the specialist sources record

The Oceana account notes that basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world, following the whale shark.[6] Fishbase distinguishes them from all other sharks by the enormous gill slits practically encircling the head.[7] The same source reports that parasitic lampreys have been found attached to the back of basking sharks in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.[7] A 2003 study by Sims et al. confirmed that basking sharks do not hibernate and are active year-round.[8][9]

Basking Shark, Padstow Bay - geograph.org.uk
Basking Shark, Padstow Bay - geograph.org.uk. Image: Ian Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Oceana account states that basking sharks are thought to live up to 50 years, but grow and reproduce slowly.[6]

Basking Shark, Loch Tuath. - geograph.org.uk
Basking Shark, Loch Tuath. - geograph.org.uk. Image: sylvia duckworth · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Basking Shark Scale Chart SVG Steveoc86
Basking Shark Scale Chart SVG Steveoc86. Image: Steveoc 86 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Basking shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Basking Shark", Oceana (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Basking shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kruska, "Brain of the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)", Brain Behav. Evol., 1988, p. 353–63 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Basking shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sims, "Seasonal movements and behaviour of basking sharks from archival tagging: no evidence of winter hibernation", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2003, p. 187–196 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Basking shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Transequatorial Migrations by Basking Sharks in the Western Atlantic Ocean", Current Biology, 2009, p. 1019–1022; "Giant Shark Mystery Solved: Unexpected Hideout Found", News.nationalgeographic.com, 28 October 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Gregory B. Skomal, "Transequatorial Migrations by Basking Sharks in the Western Atlantic Ocean", Current Biology (2009), doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.04.019. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  6. "Basking Shark", Oceana. facts only, no text reused. oceana.org
  7. "Cetorhinus maximus", fishbase, 12 May 2025. facts only, no text reused. fishbase.se
  8. DW Sims, "Seasonal movements and behaviour of basking sharks from archival tagging: no evidence of winter hibernation", Marine Ecology Progress Series (2003), doi:10.3354/meps248187. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Basking shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sims, "Seasonal movements and behaviour of basking sharks from archival tagging: no evidence of winter hibernation", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2003, p. 187–196; Shepard, "Diel and tidal rhythms in diving behaviour of pelagic sharks identified by signal processing of archival tagging data", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2006, p. 205–213 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Basking shark (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. What is the scientific name of the basking shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Cetorhinus maximus.

From the source: “The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark.”

2. To which genus does the basking shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Cetorhinus.

From the source: “The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark.”

3. Who first scientifically described the basking shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Johan Ernst Gunnerus.

From the source: “Johan Ernst Gunnerus first described the species as Cetorhinus maximus from a specimen found in Norway.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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