AnAge entry for Rhincodon typus

Classification (HAGRID: 01817)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Chondrichthyes (Taxon entry)
            Order: Orectolobiformes
                Family: Rhincodontidae
                    Genus: Rhincodon
Species: Rhincodon typus
Common name: Whale shark
Synonyms: Rhiniodon typus

Maximum longevity: 54 years (wild)
Source: ref. 822
Sample size: Medium
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: Not much is known about the life history of these animals, the world's largest fish. One study estimated annual survival at 0.825. Age at maturity probably occurs at 13 to 25 years. Maximum longevity is unknown with estimates ranging from 54 years to over 100 years [0782]. Recent estimates predict that male sharks might live up to 130 years [1366].

No information on metabolism is available.

[1367] Ong et al. (2020), Annual Bands in Vertebrae Validated by Bomb Radiocarbon Assays Provide Estimates of Age and Growth of Whale Sharks
[1366] Perry et al. (2017), Comparing length-measurement methods and estimating growth parameters of free-swimming whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) near the South Ari Atoll, Maldives
[0822] Garcia et al. (2008), The importance of habitat and life history to extinction risk in sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras (PubMed)
[0782] Bradshaw et al. (2007), Inferring population trends for the world's largest fish from mark-recapture estimates of survival (PubMed)
[0454] Froese and Pauly, FishBase