Cetorhinidae
Quick Summary
The Cetorhinidae family contains only one living species, the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). This is a very large, slow-swimming shark, second only to the whale shark in size. Basking sharks are found in temperate coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.1
These sharks are named for their habit of basking at the surface. They feed by filtering plankton and copepods from the water through their long gill slits, processing vast amounts of water each hour. Basking sharks undertake long migrations to follow plankton blooms.1
Unfortunately, the basking shark is classified as an endangered species due to historical overfishing and its slow reproductive rate. While direct hunting has decreased, they are still caught as bycatch in fishing nets.1
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