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Wildlife of the World

Puzzle 63 · Ocean Giants and Reef Life · Page 97 in print

Whale Shark

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, reaching lengths of over 12 metres; it feeds by filtering plankton, small fish, and eggs from vast volumes of warm surface water.

Jump to a word
A whale shark swims with its broad mouth open.

A whale shark swims with its broad mouth open.

Species reference for Whale Shark. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.

(c) Daniel Benák, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

A whale shark's spotted back passes just below the surface in the Philippines.

A whale shark's spotted back passes just below the surface in the Philippines.

Species reference for Whale Shark. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.

(c) Dirk Froebel, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

The words

  1. Checkerboard

    The whale shark's markings resemble a checkerboard.

    Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab)

  2. Deep Dives

    Whale sharks make mainly daytime deep dives.

    Europe PMC (opens a new tab)

  3. Donsol Bay

    Donsol Bay in the Philippines is a documented whale shark gathering area.

    PeerJ (opens a new tab)

  4. Filter Feeding

    Straining small food from water; whale sharks use this method despite being the world’s largest fish.

    PeerJ (opens a new tab)

  5. Isla Mujeres

    Whale sharks are reliably seen near shore at Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

    PLOS ONE (opens a new tab)

  6. Largest Fish

    Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

  7. Mafia Island

    Waters around Mafia Island, Tanzania, are a documented whale shark gathering area.

    PeerJ (opens a new tab)

  8. Mouth

    The whale shark's mouth can be a metre across.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

  9. Ningaloo

    Whale sharks appear at Ningaloo Reef each year after the coral spawning, and most leave Ningaloo after July.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

  10. Ram Feeding

    In ram filter feeding the shark swims with its mouth open, collecting food.

    Georgia Aquarium (opens a new tab)

  11. Rhincodon

    The whale shark is Rhincodon typus.

    PeerJ (opens a new tab)

  12. Spawn

    Whale sharks arrive at Ningaloo after the mass spawning of coral.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

  13. Spot Pattern

    Each whale shark's spot pattern is unique, like a fingerprint.

    Georgia Aquarium (opens a new tab)

  14. Surface

    Whale sharks feed by cruising near the surface.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

  15. White Spots

    Whale sharks have white spots and stripes on a dark background.

    Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (opens a new tab)

Sources

  1. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
  2. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) record of Graham et al. 2006, Journal of the Royal Society Interface
  3. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)PeerJ (peer-reviewed article, Copping et al. 2018), full text via Europe PMC
  4. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)PLOS ONE (peer-reviewed article, McKinney et al. 2017), full text via Europe PMC
  5. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Government of Western Australia
  6. Rhincodon Whale Shark (source capture)Georgia Aquarium

How we choose sources and photographs