Biggest Fish in the World

Here's the Biggest or Largest Fish in the World

The biggest fish in the world is the Whale Shark.

The Whale Shark

Sharks are fishes who have some of the largest sizes as compared to all aquatic life. Sharks come in all sizes, ranging from twenty two centimeters, and aptly named the pygmy shark to the largest fish in the world, the whale shark.

The Whale Shark scientific name Rhinocodon typus is from the family Rhincodontidae and genus Rhinocodon. It is of the class Chondrichthyes and subclass Elasmobranichii. It is believed to trace it's origins some sixty million years ago. The Whale shark is the largest living fish species.


The Whale Shark is feeds by straining food particles from water and therefore is termed as a filter feeder or a suspension feeder. They typically pass water or a specialized structure to feed. The mouth of the Whale Shark measure up to five feet. It's mouth can contain up to three hundred and fifty rows of teeth. The shark has a flat and wide head and its eyes are located towards the front of the head.

Its body is mostly grey and it has a white patch on its belly. The whale shark is characterized by the three prominent ridges that run along each side of its body. It also has a checkerboard pattern of yellow spots and stripes.The whale shark has two pairs of pectoral and dorsal fins. Its skin can be up to ten centimeters thick.

This size makes the whale shark the biggest fish in the world. However, the whale shark uses its entire body for swimming, and therefore, it is not as good a swimmer as compared to other sharks and fishes. This unusual trait gives the whale shark a unimpressive speed of about five kilometers per hour.

The Whale Shark normally inhabits the warm temperature and tropical climates. It was first identified in the year 1828, with the harpooning of a fifteen feet long member of the species in Table Bay, South Africa. The Whale Shark is the largest specimen of aquatic life ever caught.

The largest fish ever caught was caught on November 11, 1947 near the island of Baba. It was about forty two feet long and weighed more than twenty tonnes. It had a girth of about twenty three feet.

Though the whale shark is the largest shark ever, it is a misunderstood predator. It's massive size creates a illusion about the dangers to humankind, however, the whale shark does not pose any significant danger to uses. Whale Sharks are not man-eaters and can actually be playful and gentle with divers. The whale shark attacks humans only when provoked, and divers can actually dive alongside this great fish, with the only risk of being accidentally heat by its large tail fin.

The whale shark feeds on squids, other aquatic vertebrates, drifting aquatic organisms known as phytoplanktons, planktons, macro-algae and krill. Contrary to popular belief, their immense rows of teeth play no role in their feeding. The shark gulps in a mouthful of water and then exhales the water through its gills. The plankton is trapped in the whale shark's mouth during this procedure. The whale shark also has a sieve like apparatus, which is unique to the whale shark. This prevents the escape of anything except fluid through the gills. The whale shark can therefore trap anything up to three millimeters.

There have been many rumors about the size of the whale shark and the largest fish ever caught or seen. Some claims even say that whale sharks the size of about seventy five feet have been found. One famous rumor is about the ship Maurguni, which rammed against a whale shark, which resulted in the whale being stuck in the prow of the ship, being four to five meters on one side and about thirteen meters on the other.

Search Is on for World's Biggest Freshwater Fish

The mighty Mekong River in Southeast Asia was recently the starting point for a scientific adventure to find the world's biggest freshwater fish. Researchers will continue to cast their nets far and wide, from the Amazon to the rivers of the Mongolian steppes.

Their goal: to assess the conservation status of giant catfish, stingrays, gars, carp, salmon, sturgeon, and other freshwater fish species that grow to at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight.

Many of these aquatic monsters are thought to be seriously threatened by overfishing and habitat destruction. But because such fish often inhabit deep, murky waters in remote regions, relatively little is known about them.

Researchers also hope to identify the planet's largest freshwater fish. The current record holder is the Mekong giant catfish, according to Guinness World Records. Among possible challengers for the title are a massive river stingray from Cambodia and the Chinese paddlefish of the Yangtze River.

Jointly funded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the National Geographic Society, the project will involve a network of more than a hundred scientists in 17 countries. WWF freshwater conservation biologist Robin Abell says the study should assist in establishing urgent conservation priorities and raising awareness about these poorly understood species.

"These giants are the freshwater equivalents of elephants and rhinos. And if they were visible to us on land, the world wouldn't stand by while they disappeared," she said. "This study will give us new insight into how these species live and what threatens their survival. In the end we'll know better how to manage fishing and protect habitats to save the species for the future."

The lead scientist is biologist Zeb Hogan, a WWF conservation science fellow. "This is the first study to examine all of the world's giant freshwater fish. Like previous studies of coral reefs and the deep sea, the study will serve as a window to an amazing underwater world that people seldom see," he said.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the biggest and largest Fish in the world. When we tried to find out which is the biggest Fish in the world we found this information. The information above on the biggest Fish in the world is gathered from various world record resources. So, the biggest or largest world record holder may change.  

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