The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a large, distinctively
marked member of the subclass Elasmobranchii of the class
Chondrichthyes. It is the largest shark and also the largest
fish. The greatest size accurately recorded was 14 m long,
but lengths up to 20 m have been reported. It is not to
be confused with the Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus),
the second largest fish. The average whale shark is around
8 m long. A member of the order Orectolobiformes, it is
a filter feeder. The shark has a capacious mouth, which
can be up to 1.5 m wide and contain up to 300 rows of
tiny teeth, and as part of its feeding process, it also
has five large pairs of gill arches. The head is, naturally,
wide and also flat with the small eyes towards the front
of the snout. The body is mostly grey with a white belly,
but three prominent ridges run along each side and the
skin is marked with a 'checkerboard' of pale yellow spots
and stripes. The shark has two pairs each of dorsal fins
and pectoral fins.
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