With these metrics in mind, the largest whale sharks are comparable to the other large fish in Earth’s history, such as Leedsichthys problematicus and Otodus m egalodon. The largest one scientifically validated was 12.65 meters and over 21 tonnes. Mass is even less documented, though an alleged ”20-meter” specimen was estimated to have weighed 34 tonnes. Experts generally accept the multiple records of 18-meter specimens as the maximum length for this species, though very few achieve this size. Females grow slower than males but physically mature at a larger size, likely exceeding 12 meters after many years. With the data available, both males and females appear to achieve sexual maturity at 8-9 meters, with most males ceasing growth at this stage. However, a precise understanding of its growth is unclear due to the lack of published data on physically mature specimens, especially females. The whale shark is undoubtedly the largest extant fish and largest extant species that’s not a whale. The overwhelming majority of whale sharks belong to the Indo-Pacific population. The whale shark inhabits all of the tropical and warm waters of the world, occupying both the coasts and the open ocean. The whale shark belongs to the order of Orectolobiformes, also known as ”carpet sharks”, and is the sole extant member of its family and genus. Instead, our focus will shift to a slow-moving filter-feeder, the whale shark ( Rhincodon typus). Typically, the most famous sharks are the sensationalized ”man-eaters” like the great white ( Carcharodon carcharias) or tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvier).
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