WHALE SHARK

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does whale shark mean? 

• WHALE SHARK (noun)
  The noun WHALE SHARK has 1 sense:

1. large spotted shark of warm surface waters worldwide; resembles a whale and feeds chiefly on plankton

  Familiarity information: WHALE SHARK used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHALE SHARK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large spotted shark of warm surface waters worldwide; resembles a whale and feeds chiefly on plankton

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

Rhincodon typus; whale shark

Hypernyms ("whale shark" is a kind of...):

shark (any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with small toothlike scales)

Holonyms ("whale shark" is a member of...):

genus Rhincodon; Rhincodon (whale sharks)

 Context examples 

While a whale shark can be worth as much as $250,000 USD dead, alive it can provide more than $2 Million USD over the course of its life span.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)

The whale shark can grow to eighteen metres (60 ft) in length.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)

Steep slopes in the seabed also cause an upwelling of sea currents that stimulate plankton and small crustaceans such as krill that the whale sharks feed on.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)

In findings published on Friday, researchers from the University of York and Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme have mapped key habitats of the world's largest fish, the whale shark, shedding light on congregation sites that have perplexed marine biologists.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)

Unlike its better-known relatives, the Great white shark and other predatory sharks, the whale shark is a filter feeder, meaning that it draws water into its mouth and extracts small organisms from the liquid.

(New study of endangered whale shark youth shows vital habitat similarities, Wikinews)