The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is a huge filter feeding shark which grows to be up to about 33 feet long. It is the second largest shark 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.After closing its mouth, the shark uses gill rakers that filter the nourishment from the water. Gill rakers are bristly structures 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. It has long been a commercially important fish, as a source of food, shark fin, animal feed, and shark liver oil. Over-exploitation has reduced its populations to the point that some have apparently disappeared and others need protection.
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