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Rhincodontidae
| Description | The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (62 ft) The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal kingdom, most notably being by far the largest living nonmammalian vertebrate. It is the sole member of the genus Rhincodon and the only extant member of the family Rhincodontidae, which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. Before 1984 it was classified as Rhiniodon into Rhinodontidae. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhincodontidae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Elasmobranchii : Orectolobiformes : Rhincodontidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Chondrichthyes : Orectolobiformes : Rhincodontidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Common Name | whale shark | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Rhincodontidae | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Syst. Beschr. Plagiostomen, Heft 2: 77 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 3 (75%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 176 - 172 Ma Jurassic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | suspension feeder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | R. W. Purdy, V. P. Schneider, and S. P. Applegate, J. H. McLellan, R. L. Meyer, B. H. Slaughter. 2001. The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 90:71-202 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Whale Sharks, Requins Baleine, Requins-baleines, Tiburones Ballena, Whale Shark, Ching Sha K'o, Jimbeizame-ka, Kitovye Akuly, ジンベエザメ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhincodontidae |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Palaeorhincodon ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 9 | 176 Ma Early Jurassic | 38.0 Ma Eocene | |
| Rhincodon genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | Whale Shark | 5 | 28.1 Ma Oligocene | 0 Ma Extant |
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhyncodontidae | GBIF | family | Animalia : Chordata : Elasmobranchii : Orectolobiformes : Rhyncodontidae |
| Rhiniodontidae | GBIF | family | Animalia : Chordata : Elasmobranchii : Orectolobiformes : Rhiniodontidae |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1839 | Rhincodontidae Müller and Henle |
| 2001 | Rhincodontidae Purdy et al. p. 100 |
| 2009 | Rhincodontidae Cicimurri and Knight p. 630 |
| 2018 | Rhincodontidae Kent p. 62 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
