Which shark is the second-largest living fish after the whale shark?

Which shark is the second-largest living fish after the whale shark? The basking shark. It is the largest shark after the whale shark and the second-largest living fish species currently recognized.

Basking sharks can reach roughly 7.9 metres regularly, with exceptionally large individuals exceeding 10 metres. Their enormous size can make them look threatening, but they are generally slow-moving, nonaggressive filter feeders. They swim with their huge mouths open, straining plankton and other tiny organisms from seawater with specialized gill rakers.

The species occurs in temperate oceans around the world and often appears near the surface in seasonal feeding areas. Its common name comes from this surface-feeding behavior: a basking shark may seem to be “basking” in warm sunlight while it filters plankton-rich water.

People commonly confuse it with the great white because both have large, shark-shaped bodies. The basking shark has a much wider mouth, far longer gill slits extending around the head, and tiny teeth suited to a filter-feeding lifestyle. The whale shark remains larger, while the basking shark holds the runner-up position.