The largest type of shark is the whale shark. Whale sharks can reach lengths of about 18.8 meters (approximately 62 feet) and are the biggest sharks in the ocean, though they pose no threat to humans and feed on tiny plankton by filter-feeding.

If you’d like, I can pull up a quick comparison of other very large sharks (like basking sharks, megamouth sharks, and great white sharks) to put the whale shark’s size in context.