Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Rhincodon typus
tiburón ballena, Whale shark
Size: Maximum lengths remains uncertain, but 18.3 m TL has been stated as credible. Gray to gray-brown, fading to white underside; thin whitish lines join spots on back. Three ridges run on sides from head to base of tail; first dorsal fin more than halfway back on body. World's largest fish.
Habitat: Open waters in regions of upwelling.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Elasmobranchii
Order
Orectolobiformes
Suborder
Galeomorphi
Family
Rhincodontidae
Genus
Rhincodon
Species
typus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Micristodus punctatus Gill, 1865, Rhiniodon typus (Smith, 1828), Rhinodon pentalineatus Kishinouye, 1901, Rhinodon typicus Müller & Henle, 1839, Rhinodon typicus Smith, 1845, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Vagrant
Distribution: Rare. Throughout tropical waters, in the eastern Pacific from off California and Mexico to nothern Chile and Galapagos. Worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Circumtropical
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 pp.
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 April 2010.
- Norman, B. (2005) Rhincodon typus www.iucnredlist.org
- Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- Grove, J.S. Long, D.J., Robertson, D.R. & Victor, B.C. (2022) List of Fishes of the Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation, 39, 14–22.
- IUCN (2024) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2024-1. Https://www.iucnredlist.org
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Rhincodon typus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7852/1000. Accessed 18 May 2025.