Basking Sharks

The basking shark's most important

characteristics are its long gill slits which
almost encircle the head and its pointed snout.
Additional recognizable features are its lunate
caudal fin and well-formed lateral keels.
The maximum size of these animals is
approximately 10 meters. Reports on larger
specimans have to date not been confirmed.
Their maximum age is unknown, although
efforts are being made to determine this by
counting the number of vertebral spines/Wirbelringe (similar to the growth of
tree trunks) and comparing them to the size of animals in known populations.
Basking sharks belong to the few plankton eaters in the shark world. The
only other filter-feeding species known to prefer plankton are whale sharks
(Rhincodon

typus, Fact

Sheet

Shark

Info

3/00)

and

megamouth

sharks

(Megachasma pelagios, Fact Sheet Shark Info 1/99). Although other species such
as the blue sharks (Prionace glauca) also have the necessary filter structure in
the gill region which allows them to strain water and thus feed on plankton (krill)
as their basic food, they only do this in rare cases. Called gill rakers, they are the
main reason why basking sharks swim through the water almost permanently
with wide open mouths. Compared to whale sharks, basking sharks are passive
filterers, meaning they do not actively suck in water but rather let it flow in while
swimming.
This species' method of reproduction has not been widely researched. As
with other representatives of the same group (white sharks, mackerel sharks,
thresher sharks, etc.), they too bear living young, but the embryos are not
connected by placenta to the mother (aplacental viviparous or ovoviviparous).
The embryos nourish themselves by feeding on eggs produced by the mother
(oophagy, the eating of eggs). Their size at birth is approximately 1.7 meters
long. Based on counts made of the number of animals and their sex, the species
appears to mate in schools prevailed by females. In addition they seem to have
the longest gestation period of all sharks.

This species prefers cool and temperate waters and is distributed almost
worldwide, although they appear to be limited to regions on the continental shelf.
They are seen both in immediate proximity to the shore as well as in open
waters. They also appear to be migratory, periodically appearing in certain
places. Basking sharks can be found on the northern hemisphere off the coast of
China, Korea and around Japan, on the East coast of the U.S., from Newfoundland
down to Florida, around Great Britain and Norway, but also in the Mediterranean.
In the southern hemisphere they are found primarily in Southern Australia, parts
of South America and the tip of South Africa.
Basking sharks migrate mostly in schools, accordingly they also feed
together. Their feeding behavior and migrations appear to be connected with the
blooming of plankton. One theory is that when no plankton is available the
animals periodically retreat to deeper regions where they shed their gill rakers.
Based on this hypothesis the gill rakers are then regenerated by the time the
next plankton blooms. Thanks to deposits of fat in their huge liver, they have no
problem in overcoming this time period without plankton. Other theories say the
animals who have shed their gill rakers do not fast when no plankton is available,
but revert to feeding on organisms living on the ocean floor. More research will
be necessary before these behavioral patterns are fully understood.
Basking sharks are harmless. Years ago the animals were hunted for their
huge liver with its high content of Vitamin A and oil, the latter of which was used
as lamp oil. Because of their very low reproduction rates and the strong pressure
put on their populations by the fishing industry, these animals are today found
on the IUCN list of endangered shark species.
Basking sharks were the basis for many sea monster reports. They have a
habit of swimming directly underneath the surface of the water ("basking" means
to sun oneself or bask in the sun) and are frequently observed swimming in a
row so that their dorsal fins and the upper lobes of their caudal fins penetrate
the water, giving the impression that it is one huge animal.