/ Sharks and raysRed Sea life
Whale shark
Rhincodon typus
The biggest fish in the sea, and it eats things smaller than a grain of rice.
- How often
- Rare
- Group
- Sharks and rays
- Visible while snorkelling
- Visible while snorkelling
A whale shark is a shark only by anatomy. It has no interest in you, no teeth worth the name, and a mouth a metre and a half wide that it holds open to strain plankton out of the water. Adults reach twelve metres, though the ones that pass Hurghada are usually five to eight.
They move slowly and they surface, which is why almost every encounter happens near the top of the water rather than at depth. The spot pattern behind the gills is unique to each animal, like a fingerprint, and researchers use photographs of it to track individuals across whole oceans.
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