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Basking Shark (Cetorhinus Maximus)

The basking shark is the only living member of its family and can reach lengths of 7-11 meters, though averages 7.9 meters. It is the second largest fish after the whale shark. While historically some reached over 12 meters, most do not exceed 10 meters. The basking shark is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List due to population decline from fishing.

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111 views1 page

Basking Shark (Cetorhinus Maximus)

The basking shark is the only living member of its family and can reach lengths of 7-11 meters, though averages 7.9 meters. It is the second largest fish after the whale shark. While historically some reached over 12 meters, most do not exceed 10 meters. The basking shark is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List due to population decline from fishing.

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Shye
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BASKING SHARK

The basking shark is the only extant member of the family Cetorhinidae, part of
the mackerel shark order Lamniformes. Johan Ernst Gunnerus first described the
species as Cetorhinus maximus, from a specimen found in Norway, naming it.
The genus name Cetorhinus comes from the Greek ketos, meaning "marine
monster" or "whale", and rhinos, meaning "nose". The species name maximus is
from Latin and means "greatest".
The basking shark regularly reaches 7–8.5 m (23–
Basking Shark 28 ft) in length with some individuals reaching 9–
11 m (30–36 ft). The average length of an adult is
(Cetorhinus maximus) around 7.9 m (26 ft) weighing about 4.65 t (4.58
long tons; 5.13 short tons).[13] Historical sightings
suggest basking sharks around 12 m (39 ft) in
Large adult ~10m length, including three basking sharks estimated at
~40 fod (12.5 metres (41 ft)) and a one ~45 fod
(14 metres (46 ft)) were reported between 1884
to 1905, but these visual estimates lack good
Average adult ~7.9m?
evidence A 12.27 m (40.3 ft) specimen trapped in
a herring net in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, in 1851
has been credited as the largest recorded. Its
New born ~1.5m
weight has been estimated at 16 t (16 long tons;
18 short tons). A study looking at the growth and
longevity of the basking shark suggested that
individuals larger than ~10 m (33 ft) are unlikely.
This is the second-largest extant fish species, after
The eastern north Pacific Ocean
the whale shark.
population is a U.S. National Marine
Fisheries Service species of concern,
one of those species about which the
U.S. Government's National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration has some conservation status
concerns regarding status and threats,
but for which insufficient information is
available to indicate a need to list the
species under the U.S. Endangered
Species Act (ESA).
The IUCN Red List indicates this as an
endangered species.

The endangered aspect of this shark


was publicised in 2005 with a postage
stamp issued by Guernsey Post.

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