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SpeciesLamniformesMegachasmidae
Sharks & rays

🦈Megamouth shark

Megachasma pelagios Taylor, Compagno & Struhsaker, 1983

The megamouth shark is a species of deepwater shark. Rarely seen by humans, it measures around 4–5.5 m (13–18 ft) long and is the smallest of the three extant filter-feeding sharks alongside the much larger whale shark and basking shark. According to Sharkman's World Organization, a total of 296 specimens have been observed or caught since its discovery in 1976. Like the other two planktivorous sharks, it swims with its mouth wide open, filtering water for plankton and jellyfish. The diet of megamouth sharks mainly consists of zooplanktonic organisms like krill, jellyfish, shrimp larvae, squat lobsters, and crab larvae. It is recognizable from its large head with rubbery lips. The megamouth is so unlike any other type of shark that it is usually considered to be the sole extant species in the family Megachasmidae, though some scientists have suggested it may belong in the family Cetorhinidae.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
1
Photos
None yet
Measurements
4
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.

Population trendUnknown
Key measurements
Body mass
not recorded
Body length
5.49 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
not recorded
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Megamouth shark

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body length
5.49 mmaximum recorded
FishBase
Other figures ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

By sex

  • Female7.09 mFishBasev25.04
Trophic level
3.38
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0

Diet
carnivoreaverage
Details ↓

From trophic level 3.38 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.

Danger to humans
Harmless
FishBase
Details ↓

Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Megamouth shark yet: body mass, shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classElasmobranchii
  4. ›orderLamniformes
  5. ›familyMegachasmidae
  6. ›genusMegachasma
  7. ›speciesMegachasma pelagios
Full lineage
  1. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  2. orderLamniformes
  3. familyMegachasmidae
  4. genusMegachasma
All 10 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. classSharks & rays · Chondrichthyes
  7. subclassElasmobranchii
  8. orderLamniformes
  9. familyMegachasmidae
  10. genusMegachasma
More

More about the Megamouth shark

In other languages
tauró bocaample (ca), žralok velkoústý (cs), Kæmpemund (da), Riesenmaulhai (de), Megachasma pelagios (es), kitahai (fi) … and 22 more languages

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