Gill rakers are bristly structures in the shark's mouth that trap the small organisms which the shark then swallows. The Basking shark can process over 1500 gallons of water each hour through its five pairs of gill slits. They are ovoviviparous and give birth to 1 - 2 live young which are about 5.5 feet long at birth. They are however, rarely seen in Australian waters. They travel in groups of three or four and have been reported in schools of up to 100.
Basking sharks eat plankton and they move along with their mouths open wide filtering as they go.
It is thought they may rest on the ocean bottom during winter and use food stored in their liver to survive. Unfortunately they are still hunted mainly for their oil by Japan, Norway, USA, Britain and China. The liver can give between 200-400 gallons of oil. This shark grows very large, thought to attain a length of 10 meters and is often mistaken for a Great White shark. However, there are obvious differences with their mouth and teeth and they have very long gill slits that almost go right around the head.