# Whale shark (*Rhincodon typus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/whale-shark  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a species in the family Rhincodontidae, order Orectolobiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 12 t and reach 14 m in length. It has been recorded in 62 countries, most often in Australia, Ecuador and Indonesia. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 12 t |
| Length | 14 m |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 62 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Elasmobranchii
- order: Orectolobiformes
- family: Rhincodontidae
- genus: Rhincodon
- species: *Rhincodon typus* Smith, 1828

Synonyms: *Micristodus punctatus*, *Rhicodon typus*, *Rhineodon typus*, *Rhiniodon typus*, *Rhinodon pentalineatus*, *Rhinodon typicus*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Australia (8171), Ecuador (996), Indonesia (490), Maldives (384), Peru (371), Christmas Island (367), Costa Rica (155), Mexico (108), Colombia (99), Philippines (70), Qatar (61), Brazil (50), Mozambique (42), United States (41), Japan (33), Djibouti (30), South Africa (30), India (28), Taiwan (19), Seychelles (15), Cocos (Keeling) Islands (12), Sri Lanka (10), French Polynesia (6), Benin (5), Mayotte (5), French Guiana (4), Israel (4), Madagascar (4), Martinique (4), New Caledonia (4), Panama (4), Thailand (4), Vietnam (4), Belize (3), China (3), France (3), Guadeloupe (3), Guatemala (3), St. Martin (3), Pakistan (3), Réunion (3), Wallis & Futuna (3), United Arab Emirates (2), Canada (2), Equatorial Guinea (2), Honduras (2), Malaysia (2), Saudi Arabia (2), Bangladesh (1), Brunei (1), Caribbean Netherlands (1), Côte d’Ivoire (1), Cuba (1), Egypt (1), Ghana (1), Oman (1), Portugal (1), Sudan (1), French Southern Territories (1), Tonga (1), and 2 more

## Common questions

### How big is the whale shark?

An adult whale shark weighs 12 t and measures 14 m long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the whale shark live?

The whale shark has openly licensed sighting records from 62 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Australia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Maldives and Peru. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the whale shark endangered?

The whale shark is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

### What kind of animal is the whale shark?

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) belongs to the family Rhincodontidae in the order Orectolobiformes.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/whale-shark