Basking shark
Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765)
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup, classified in the family Cetorhinidae of the order Lamniformes. It belongs to the class Elasmobranchii and the genus Cetorhinus, and its scientific name carries the authority (Gunnerus, 1765).
Quick facts about the basking shark
The global IUCN Red List assessment lists the basking shark as Endangered (EN), an IUCN threatened category. Other English names for the species are Homer, Pelerin, Sunfish, Oilfish and Capidolo.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 7.9 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the basking shark?
Photos of the basking shark
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the basking shark live?
Not recorded
What is the basking shark?
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m (26 ft) in length, but large individuals have been known to grow more than 10 m (33 ft) long. It is usually greyish-brown, with mottled skin, with the inside of the mouth being white in colour. The caudal fin has a strong lateral keel and a crescent shape. Other common names include bone shark, elephant shark, sailfish, and sunfish.
The basking shark is a cosmopolitan migratory species found in all the world's temperate oceans. A slow-moving filter feeder, its common name derives from its habit of feeding at the surface, appearing to be basking in the warmer water there. It has anatomical adaptations for filter-feeding, such as a greatly enlarged mouth and highly developed gill rakers. Its snout is conical, and the gill slits extend around the top and bottom of its head. The gill rakers, dark and bristle-like, are used to catch plankton as water filters through the mouth and over the gills. The teeth are numerous, often numbering 100 per row. The teeth are very small, have a single conical cusp, are curved backwards, and are the same on both the upper and lower jaws. This species has the smallest weight-for-weight brain size of any shark, reflecting its relatively passive lifestyle.
Basking sharks have been shown from satellite tracking to overwinter in both continental shelf (less than 200 m or 660 ft) and deeper waters. They may be found either in small shoals or alone. Despite their large size and threatening appearance, basking sharks are not aggressive and are harmless to humans.
The basking shark has long been a commercially important fish as a source of food, shark fin, animal feed, and shark liver oil. Overexploitation has reduced its populations to the point where some have disappeared and others need protection.
From the Wikipedia article “Basking shark” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basking_shark&oldid=1382355240), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the basking shark endangered?
The basking shark is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the basking shark classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classElasmobranchii
- orderLamniformes
- familyCetorhinidae
- genusCetorhinus
- SpeciesCetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765)
Synonyms Cetorhinus blainvillei, Cetorhinus maccoyi, Cetorhinus maximus f. infanuncula, Cetorhinus maximus infanuncula, Cetorhinus maximus normani, Cetorhinus normani, Cetorhinus rostratus, Halsydrus maccoyi, Halsydrus maximus, Halsydrus pontoppidiani, Halsydrus pontoppidiani, Hannovera aurata, Polyprosopus macer, Scoliophis atlanticus, Selache elephas, Selache maxima, Selache maximum, Selache maximus, Selachus pennantii, Squalis gunneri, Squalis shavianus, Squalus cetaceus, Squalus elephas, Squalus gunnerianus, Squalus homianus, Squalus isodus, Squalus maximus, Squalus pelegrinus, Squalus peregrinus, Squalus rashleighanus, Squalus rhinoceros, Squalus rostratus, Tetraoras angiova, Tetroras angiova, Tetroras maccoyi
Other names and names in other languages (173)
- Basking tresherEnglish
- Bone sharkEnglish
- Cape basking sharkEnglish
- CapidoloEnglish
- Cow-fishEnglish
- Elephant sharkEnglish
- Foolish sharkEnglish
- Giant basking sharkEnglish
- Great BaskerEnglish
- Gurry sharkEnglish
- Hoe motherEnglish
- Hoe-motherEnglish
- HomerEnglish
- Long-nosed sharkEnglish
- OilfishEnglish
- Old woman sharkEnglish
- PelerinEnglish
- Sail fishEnglish
- SailfishEnglish
- Southern basking sharkEnglish
- Sun fishEnglish
- SunfishEnglish
- koesterhaaiAfrikaans
- KalbArabic
- momuAsturian
- pexe bobuAsturian
- pexe d'agua malaAsturian
- pexe momuAsturian
- Гіганцкая акулаBelarusian
- pirc'hirinBreton
- PelegríCatalan
- 象沙Chinese
- 象鲛Chinese
- CagnacciaCorsican
- žralok velikýCzech
- heulgiWelsh
- HeulgwnWelsh
- brugdeDanish
- MandelhaiGerman
- RiesenhaiGerman
- ΠαπάςGreek
- ΚαρχαρίαςGreek
- ΠροσκυνητήςGreek
- ΣαπουνάςGreek
- ΣκυλόψαροGreek
- Καρχαρίας προσκυνητήςGreek
- Saparnasm SkylopsaroGreek
- SapounasGreek
- SkylòpsaroGreek
- ColayoSpanish
- elefanteSpanish
- Marrajo ballenatoSpanish
- Marrajo giganteSpanish
- Peje vacaSpanish
- peje-vacaSpanish
- peregrinoSpanish
- pez elefanteSpanish
- Tiburón canastaSpanish
- tiburón peregrinoSpanish
- HiidhaiEstonian
- JättiläishaiFinnish
- BrugdaFaroese
- pèlerinFrench
- elephant de merFrench
- Éléphant de merFrench
- le squale a fanonsFrench
- le très grandFrench
- Poisson à voilesFrench
- poisson à voliesFrench
- religieuseFrench
- Requin pèlerinFrench
- requin-pèlerinFrench
- Squale géantFrench
- Squale pélerinFrench
- squale pèlerinFrench
- liabhán mórIrish
- An liamhán gréineIrish
- liabhán chor gréineIrish
- cearbanScottish Gaelic
- cearbainScottish Gaelic
- Karish anakHebrew
- כריש ענקHebrew
- כריש ענקי ים תיכוניHebrew
- כריש-ענק ים-תיכוניHebrew
- Suncani pasCroatian
- Golema psinaCroatian
- Psina golemaCroatian
- Psina gorostasnaCroatian
- óriáscápaHungarian
- rymerIcelandic
- beinhaakalIcelandic
- BeinhákarlIcelandic
- CagnaItalian
- cagniaItalian
- CaniscaItalian
- caniscuItalian
- ImbestinoItalian
- imbestinuItalian
- MmistinuItalian
- Pesce elefanteItalian
- Pisci sceccuItalian
- squalo elefanteItalian
- Squalo giganteItalian
- squalo massimoItalian
- Squalo pellegrinoItalian
- Squalo rostratoItalian
- ウバザメJapanese
- bakazameJapanese
- teguzameJapanese
- ubazameJapanese
- zozameJapanese
- 돌묵상어Korean
- milžinryklisLithuanian
- ReremaiMāori
- GabdollMaltese
- GobdollMaltese
- pixi tunnuMaltese
- PixxitonnuMaltese
- brugdeNorwegian Bokmål
- reuzehaaiDutch
- reuzenhaaiDutch
- brugdeNorwegian Nynorsk
- brugdeNorwegian
- brygdeNorwegian
- ry brigdeNorwegian
- DługoszparPolish
- Rekin gigantycznyPolish
- żarłacz olbrzymiPolish
- FradePortuguese
- AlbafarPortuguese
- Cação-peregrino-argentinoPortuguese
- caragoPortuguese
- peixe caragoPortuguese
- peixe fradePortuguese
- Peixe-caragoPortuguese
- Peixe-fradePortuguese
- RelengueiroPortuguese
- tubarâo fradePortuguese
- Tubarão fradePortuguese
- Tubarâo-fradePortuguese
- Tubarão-fradePortuguese
- Tubarão-peregrinoPortuguese
- lao sha k’oRussian
- Акула гигантскаяRussian
- Гигантская акулаRussian
- akula gigantakaiaRussian
- akuloobraznyeRussian
- akuly nastoiaschieRussian
- bol’shezhabernye akulyRussian
- gigantskie akulyRussian
- šuorjáNorthern Sami
- morski pes orjakSlovenian
- Peshkagen shtegtarAlbanian
- Peshkaqen shtegtarAlbanian
- peshkaqeni gjigantAlbanian
- Pzina golemaSerbian
- brugdSwedish
- brugdenSwedish
- buyuk camgozTurkish
- büyük camgözTurkish
- Büyükcamgöz baligiTurkish
- dev kopekbaligiTurkish
- dev köpekbalığıTurkish
- guneslenen kopekbaligiTurkish
- güneşlenen köpekbalığıTurkish
- китова акулаUkrainian
- Акула гігантськаUkrainian
- Гігантська акулаUkrainian
- ігантської акулиUkrainian
- 姥鯊Chinese
- 象鮫Chinese
- 象鮫、姥鯊、象鯊Chinese
- 象鯊Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the basking shark
Other species in the same order Lamniformes.
Great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Megalodon
Otodus megalodon
Goblin shark
Mitsukurina owstoni
Porbeagle
Lamna nasus
Common thresher
Alopias vulpinus
Shortfin mako shark
Isurus oxyrinchus
CompareBasking shark vs Great white sharkBasking shark vs MegalodonBasking shark vs Goblin sharkBasking shark vs Porbeagle
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
Is the basking shark endangered?
Yes. The basking shark is listed as Endangered (EN) in the global IUCN Red List assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.
What kind of animal is the basking shark?
The basking shark is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup, belonging to the class Elasmobranchii.
What is the scientific name of the basking shark?
The scientific name of the basking shark is Cetorhinus maximus, in the genus Cetorhinus.
What family does the basking shark belong to?
The basking shark belongs to the family Cetorhinidae, in the order Lamniformes.
Who named the basking shark and when?
The scientific name Cetorhinus maximus carries the authority (Gunnerus, 1765).
What other names does the basking shark have?
Other English names for the basking shark are Homer, Pelerin, Sunfish, Oilfish and Capidolo.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/basking-shark
“Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/basking-shark.
@misc{basking_shark_2026,
title = {Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/basking-shark},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}