Is the Whale Shark a Mammal? Unveiling the True Identity of the Whale Shark

The whale shark is a shark of the family Rhincodontidae, genus Rhincodon, with a body length of 9-12 m, and the largest individual can reach a body length of 20 m. It is the largest fish in the world, the champion of fishes. So, is the whale shark a mammal?

1. Is the whale shark a mammal?

The whale shark is not a mammal. The whale shark is a type of shark, and sharks are not mammals, because they breathe through gills, do not nurse their young, and are not warm-blooded animals.

2. Is the whale shark viviparous or oviparous?

The whale shark is an ovoviviparous animal. In July 1996, fishermen in the Taitung area of Taiwan, China caught a female shark, and subsequently found 300 pups and egg cases inside her body, showing that the whale shark is in fact an ovoviviparous animal. The whale shark keeps the eggs inside its body until the pups grow to 40 to 60 cm before releasing them outside the body.

3. What does the whale shark eat?

The whale shark is a filter feeder, feeding on plankton, large algae, krill and small free-swimming animals (such as small squid and vertebrates). Its main foods are krill, crab larvae, jellyfish, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, small tuna and squid. The whale shark is quite gentle in temperament, and does not “eat people” like some sharks. If you are with divers, you may be accidentally hit by the whale shark's huge tail fin, but it will not cause major harm to humans.