Q 01/05

What distinction does the whale shark hold?

A) Largest living animal

B) Largest living fish

C) Fastest shark

D) Deepest-diving fish

Answer · why

B) Largest living fish

It is by far the largest living non-cetacean animal; only the whales beat it.

Q 02/05

What is the whale shark's scientific name?

A) Cetorhinus maximus

B) Carcharodon carcharias

C) Rhincodon typus

D) Megachasma pelagios

Answer · why

C) Rhincodon typus

Cetorhinus is the basking shark and Megachasma the megamouth, the only other filter-feeding sharks.

Q 03/05

How long was the individual considered the largest reliably recorded whale shark?

A) 12 metres

B) 18.8 metres

C) 25 metres

D) 30 metres

Answer · why

B) 18.8 metres

A female from the Arabian Sea in 2001, with a standard length of 15 m; a 2015 megafauna review rated it the most reliable measurement.

Q 04/05

Despite its name, what kind of animal is the whale shark?

A) A marine mammal

B) A cartilaginous fish

C) A giant ray

D) A bony fish

Answer · why

B) A cartilaginous fish

The name refers only to its size and look; like all sharks it is not closely related to whales.

Q 05/05

Where was the specimen harpooned in April 1828 that led to the species being described?

A) Ningaloo Reef, Australia

B) The Gulf of Mexico

C) Table Bay, South Africa

D) The Seychelles

Answer · why

C) Table Bay, South Africa

Military doctor Andrew Smith described the 4.6 m animal the following year.