Common names: shark (English), tiburón (Espanol)
 
Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828


Whale shark


Robust body; snout very short and broad; eye small, round; mouth wide, transverse, a little behind tip of snout; five long gill slits, last three over pectoral fin; two dorsal fins, first over pelvics, second and smaller fin over anal;  tail fin almost symmetrical, with large lower lobe; tail base flattened, with large keel that continues forward as crest along body and over gill slits, with two more crests above along body.


Dark, with prominent white spots.


Size: 12 m (old visual records to 21 m).

Habitat: pelagic in nearshore and offshore waters.

Depth: 0-240 m.

This species is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas, including throughout the eastern Pacific.