English: The size and growth of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), represented by various individuals reported in the literature. A small 55 centimetres (22 in) pup, a 5.62 metres (18.4 ft) juvenile, a generic 9 metres (30 ft) young adult, a large 12.1 metres (40 ft) adult, and an exceptionally large adult with a precaudal length of 15 metres (49 ft).

• The whale shark silhouettes are scaled to measurements of various individuals reported in the literature and influenced by whale shark images found online.

• The smallest individual in the chart is based on measurements of a 'pup' described by Wolfson (1983), reported as 55 cm.^[1]

• The 'juvenile' individual is based on measurements in Silas & Rajagopalan (1963), reported as 5.62 m.^[2]

• Evidence from mainly male whale sharks suggests that they are sexually mature at around 8-9 m in length (9 m shown here). Females might mature at a similar size or larger.^[3][4][5] In 2020, it was shown that whale sharks are sexually dimorphic regarding body size, with males reaching smaller sizes than females. Meekan et al. (2020) estimated that males reach an average length of 8-9 m; this is an average, not the maximum possible male size. There was less data for females, but Meekan et al. (2020) estimated an average of ~14.5 m. However, this value lowered to ~12.1 m if aquarium whale sharks were included.^[6]

• The 'large adult' silhouette is based primarily on measurements of a whale shark reported by Kaikini et al. (1959) and inspired by images of large females seen around the Galapagos.^[7] Artists note: Whilst this whale shark was reported at 12.1 m in total length, the precaudal length was reported at 9.84 m, and the upper caudal fin was 2.31 m. Reaching the reported total length of 12.1 m would require the upper caudal fin to be illustrated at a shallow angle. This might imply the shark's total length was measured with the stretched-out or over the body's curves.

• The largest size possible for whale sharks is uncertain. Reports suggest individuals around ~18-20 m, but many of these reports lack detailed measurements or documentation. The largest silhouette is scaled to 15 m standard length (precaudal length), based on an individual reported by Borrell et al. (2011). The total length was not documented; the authors estimated the total length at 18.8 m using an equation.^[8] McClain et al. (2015) considered this whale shark as the largest reliably measured.^[9]

• Note: There are several ways to measure a shark's total length. Some shark reports calculate the total length by adding the caudal fin to the pre-caudal length. Additionally, the whole shark can be measured by running a tape along the body's curves. Another way is by stretching the caudal fin to the maximum possible (referred to as stretched total length). These methods artificially increase the shark's total length when compared to how the shark measures in a natural posture. Another method is to try and pose the shark's tail fin in a natural position. However, for large sharks, this method is difficult to achieve. Any inaccuracy in the positioning of the tail can affect the reported total length measurement.^[10] The whale sharks in this image might not match the reported total length because of these issues.

• Human diver scaled to 180 cm (5 ft 11 in). Silhouette extracted from File:Sperm_whale_size.svg.