12 Interesting Facts About The Basking Shark

                   Kingdom : Animalia
                          Class : Chondrichthyes
                       Family : Cetorhinidae
        Scientific Name : Cetorhinus Maximus

                       Origin : Atlantic and Pacific 
                                       Oceans
                      Size(L) : 6m - 12m (20ft - 39ft)
                  Life Span : 20 - 100 years
                      Colour : Grey, Black, Brown

                 Skin Type : Smooth
Distinctive Features : Enormous mouth and
                                      large body size

1. They are the second-largest species of fish in the world.
2. They inhabit the temperate coastal waters around the world, except the Indian Ocean.
3. They have huge mouths and are known to process around 1500 gallons of water at a time.
4. They are filter feeders and feed on food particles filtered out of water.
5. They have hundreds of tiny teeth which help them in filtering food from water.
6. They are solitary animals known to hunt alone.
7. They are sluggish swimmers mostly found near the surface of water.
8. Basking sharks are carnivores primarily feeding on plankton and other small marine organisms.
9. They have very few natural predators in great white sharks and killer whales.
10. They are known to mate during warm summer months.
11. Their pups are born after 3 years of development and are independent at birth.
12. Over hunting and pollution have made the Basking Shark a threatened species today.