📷 MPF · Public domain
📷 Conscious
📷 Harper's Weekly
IUCN: Endangered
Basking Shark
Cetorhinus maximus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassChondrichthyes›OrderLamniformes›FamilyCetorhinidae›GenusCetorhinus
About
The basking shark is the second-largest fish in the sea, a slow-moving filter feeder that swims open-mouthed through plankton blooms. It can sieve thousands of litres of water an hour and carries an enormous oily liver for buoyancy. Historically hunted for oil, it is Endangered in the northeast Atlantic and still at risk from ship strikes, entanglement, and illegal finning.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Cold and temperate coastal waters worldwide, often near plankton fronts
🍃Diet Filter feeder — zooplankton strained through long gill rakers
📏Size & Weight Body 6–8 m; occasionally over 10 m
•weight Up to 6 tonnes
⏳Lifespan About 50 years
🗺Range Worldwide in cold and temperate seas; seasonal gatherings off Britain, Ireland, and New England
FishShark
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Cold and temperate coastal waters worldwide, often near plankton fronts
🍃Diet Filter feeder — zooplankton strained through long gill rakers
📏Size & Weight Body 6–8 m; occasionally over 10 m
•weight Up to 6 tonnes
⏳Lifespan About 50 years
🗺Range Worldwide in cold and temperate seas; seasonal gatherings off Britain, Ireland, and New England
Photo Credits
#1MPF · Public domain
#2Conscious · Public domain
#3Harper's Weekly · Public domain
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