Basking Shark: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Shark Week · day 5 of 7

Five facts

1. Only the whale shark is bigger: the basking shark ranks second in size among all living sharks and fish.
2. Its liver can be a quarter of its body weight and runs the whole length of its belly. It probably helps the shark float and store energy.
3. Just by swimming forward, a 5 m basking shark was calculated to strain up to 450 tonnes of water an hour.
4. Among all sharks, the basking shark has the smallest brain relative to its body weight.
5. The largest basking shark on record measured 12.27 m. It was trapped in a herring net in Canada's Bay of Fundy in 1851.

The quiz

1. Which living shark is bigger than the basking shark?

• The great white
• The whale shark (correct)
• The hammerhead
• None, it is the largest

The basking shark is second-largest, after the whale shark.

2. What is the basking shark's huge liver thought to help with?

• Seeing in the dark
• Digesting bones
• Making light
• Floating and storing energy (correct)

Its liver is thought to help it float and store energy.

3. How much water can a 5 m basking shark filter in an hour?

• Up to 450 tonnes (correct)
• About 5 tonnes
• Up to 45 tonnes
• About 1 tonne

A 5 m basking shark was calculated to filter up to 450 tonnes of water an hour.

4. What is unusual about the basking shark's brain?

• It is the largest of any shark
• It has two parts
• It is the smallest relative to body weight among sharks (correct)
• It never rests

It has the smallest brain relative to body weight among all sharks.

5. In which year was the largest recorded basking shark caught?

• 1751
• 1851 (correct)
• 1951
• 1901

The largest recorded one was caught in a herring net in 1851.

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