Although both animals live and thrive in the ocean and there is a species of shark that is called the whale shark the whale species is very different from sharks.
In fact sharks are actually considered a type of fish while whales, dolphins and porpoises are marine mammals.
There are currently over 400 known species of shark that have been recorded throughout the world (not including fish species) and around 80 – 90 known species of cetacea (cetaceans include whales, dolphins and porpoises).
In terms of size sharks can range in greatly in size from 8 inches (the dwarf lanternshark) to nearly 40 ft. long (the whale shark).
Most species of shark have very light streamlined bodies which are designed for fast movement through the water.
Their streamlined bodies help minimize water drag while making swimming as energy efficient as possible.
Whales on the other hand can vary in size from 9 ft. (the dwarf sperm whale) to over 98 ft. ( the blue whale) in length and weight in excess of 150 tons.
If you include dolphins than their sizes can range from 5 ft. (Maui’s dolphin) to over 30 ft. (the killer whale).
Breathing is also very different between whales and sharks.
In order for a whale to obtain oxygen whales must breathe through their blowhole(s) and must come to the surface to inhale air because if they didn’t they would drown or suffocate under the water, just like humans.
Depending on the species whales have been recorded holding their breath anywhere from 5 minutes to 90 minutes before having to swim back to the surface for oxygen.
Sharks on the other hand breathe through their gills which they use to extract oxygen directly from the water.
Possessing gills allows sharks and fish to live underwater without ever needing to come to the surface.
This is especially important for species that live far beneath the ocean as some of these animals will spend their entire lives underwater and never experience an environment above the surface of the water.
In fact while it’s possible for a whale to drown underwater it’s possible for a shark to suffocate above the water due to the fact that sharks do not possess specialized lungs which would be needed to breathe air.
Another notable difference between the two species has to do with the way they swim.
Whales swim by moving their spine and tail up and down which is believed to the result of their mammalian past.
The original ancestors of whales lived and hunted on the land and as a result had spines that were designed for walking and/or running rather than swimming.
Sharks however swim by moving their body and tail from left to right, kind of like a snake.
The left to right to movement is very effective for propelling the shark forward and allowing it to pass water over its gills so that it can breath.
This style of swimming may also be considered more energy efficient for sharks and works well with their physical design.
Another major difference between whales and sharks is how the two species give birth.
Whales give birth the same way that humans and other mammals do (through a pregnancy period or gestation term) while sharks and fish lay eggs.
Some species of shark however are viviparous and share a link to their young that appears similar to the placental type of link that is commonly shared among mammals.
This is due to the fact that some shark species keep their eggs internal until it hatches as compared to other species that let the eggs fall and rest on the ocean floor.
Despite carrying their eggs internally sharks do not produce milk to feed their young the way whales do and their emotional maternal bond with their children (if the shark has any) is often significantly less substantial than that of a female whale and her calf.
Other difference among sharks and whales:
Sharks
- Cold-blooded (most shark and fish species are cold blooded animals)
- Lay eggs (sharks are known to be able to lay up to 100 eggs during a single reproductive cycle while fish can lay several thousand eggs in a single year)
- Have gills (sharks use to gills to breathe underwater, but can suffocate above the water as they are not designed to live above the surface)
- Sharks swim from left to right (the sharks body is streamlined and well designed for swimming underwater)
- Smaller average size compared to whales (sharks are typically smaller than whales likely burn significantly fewer calories due to being small and cold-blooded)
- Sharks can replace their teeth dozens of times of the course of a lifetime
- Sharks can sense electrical signals of other animals in the ocean.
- Sharks have serrated teeth for hunting (sharks are known for having serrated teeth which they use to bite their prey and tear the flesh off it)
Whales
- Warm-blooded (whales are marine mammals and thus are warm-blooded animals that need to maintain a high calorie diet in order to stay warm and keep sufficient blubber levels)
- Whales have blubber (since whales are warm-blooded they need blubber to keep their vital organs warm when they are in cold environments.
- Give birth (whales give birth to their children rather than laying eggs)
- Have blowhole(s) (whales must come to the surface to breathe and can drown underwater)
- Whales swim by moving their tails up and down (the spine of whales appears to be designed for walking/running rather than swimming, so they move their back/flukes up and down to swim)
- Whales are generally larger than sharks
- Whales have either teeth or baleen plates (not all whales use their teeth to chew their prey and some species will only use their teeth to grab onto their prey and will swallow their food whole)
- Whales have hair (some species are born with hair that falls off shortly after birth)
- Whales produce milk (to feed their young)
- Some whales are equipped with echolocation
As you can see there are many factors that make whales and sharks very different species from one another.
Whales are warm-blooded marine mammals that give birth to their young and nurture their children until they can survive on their own while sharks are cold-blooded animals that lay eggs and play less of a parental role in their child development.