What is Basking shark?
{{Taxobox | name = Basking shark | image = Cetorhinus_maximus_by_greg_skomal.JPG | image2 = Basking-Shark-Scale-Chart-SVG-Steveoc86-001.svg | image2_caption = The size of various basking shark individuals with a human for scale | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Chondrichthyes]] | subclassis = [[Elasmobranchii]] | ordo = [[Lamniformes]] | familia = '''Cetorhinidae''' | familia_authority = [[Theodore Nicholas Gill|Gill]], 1862 | genus = '''''Cetorhinus''''' | genus_authority = [[Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville|Blainville]], 1816 | species = '''''C. maximus''''' | binomial = ''Cetorhinus maximus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Johann Ernst Gunnerus|Gunnerus]], 1765) | range_map = Cypron-Range_Cetorhinus_maximus.svg | range_map_caption = Range of the Basking shark (in blue) }} The '''basking shark''' (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is a huge [[filter feeder|filter-feeding]] [[shark]], which can grow up to the length of 40 feet (12 metres). It is the second largest [[shark]] in the world (after the [[whale shark]]). The basking shark is also called the '''sunfish''', the '''bone shark''', the '''elephant shark''', the '''sailfish shark''', and the '''big mouth shark'''. == Description == [[Image:Basking head.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The head of a basking shark]] The basking shark is one of the most recognizable [[species]] of all [[shark]]s. Its large size and extended [[gill]] slits which nearly encircle the [[head]] and [[caudal fin]] together, helps distinguish it from all other species. It has a snout which is in the shape of a cone, and it has many large gill rakers made for filter feeding. Its enormous mouth extends past the small eyes and contains many small, hooked [[teeth]]. The basking shark has a very large [[liver]] that makes up to 25% of its body weight. The liver is high in [[squalene]], a low-density [[hydrocarbon]] that helps the shark float and not sink. The dorsal surface of the basking shark is mainly a greyish-brown colour, but can