Basking Shark

TEETH
Basking sharks have hundreds of teeth (each having a single cusp, curving backwards) but they are tiny and are of little use.
DIET AND FEEDING HABITS
Basking sharks are filter feeders that sieve small animals from the water. As the basking shark swims with its mouth open, masses of water filled with prey flow through its mouth. The prey includes plankton, baby fish, and fish eggs. After closing its mouth, the shark uses gill rakers that filter the nourishment from the water. Gill rakers are bristly structures (the thousands of bristles are about 4 inches or 10 cm long) in the shark's mouth that trap the small organisms which the shark then swallows. The water is expelled through the shark's 5 pairs of gill slits. The shark can process over 1500 gallons (6000 liters) of water each hour.
SOCIAL GROUPS
Basking sharks travel alone, in pairs, or in schools (groups) of up to 100 members.
HABITAT
Basking sharks live in coastal temperate waters. They spend most of their time at the surface, hence their nickname the "sunfish."
DISTRIBUTION
Basking sharks are found off the coasts of western North America from Baja to southern Alaska, off the east coast of the US and southern Canada, along the Gulf Stream, to the entire coastline of Europe, off the southern coast of Australia, off South Africa, New Zealand, most of southern South America, the Red Sea, and the coastlines of China and Japan.