Which shark is the only living species in the genus Rhincodon?

The whale shark is the only living species in the genus Rhincodon.

Its scientific name is Rhincodon typus. Although it is called a whale shark because of its enormous size and whale-like feeding style, it is a fish and a shark, not a mammal. It is the largest known living fish and feeds mainly by filtering plankton, krill, fish eggs, and small schooling fish from seawater.

Whale sharks inhabit tropical and warm-temperate oceans and can migrate thousands of miles between seasonal feeding grounds. Predictable aggregations occur at places such as Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, and waters near India. Their size can make them seem threatening, but they are generally docile and are not considered a significant danger to humans.

The genus-level wording matters. Leopard sharks, zebra sharks, and basking sharks are all different species in different genera. The whale shark is also the only living member of the family Rhincodontidae, although extinct relatives are known from the fossil record.