Basking Shark

Cetorhinus maximus

10,066Records since 2000

AugustPeak month

35Counties with records

EndangeredIUCN Red List

When it is recorded

Jan31

Feb19

Mar30

Apr218

May980

Jun2,347

Jul2,249

Aug2,615

Sep1,268

Oct232

Nov40

Dec11

GBIF records by month, 2000–2025 (all years combined).

#	County	Nation	Records
1	Cornwall	England	764
2	Argyll and Bute	Scotland	180
3	Highland	Scotland	167
4	North Ayrshire	Scotland	81
5	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	70
6	Devon	England	28
7	Shetland Islands	—	17
8	South Ayrshire	Scotland	16
9	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	14
10	Causeway Coast and Glens	Northern Ireland	11
11	Moray	Scotland	10
12	Orkney Islands	Scotland	8
13	Torbay	England	8
14	Dumfries and Galloway	Scotland	7
15	Dorset	England	6

38 England214 Scotland26 Northern Ireland

Records per county (GADM level 2) and per nation; one record can count towards several areas. 35 counties in all.

Records since 2000: 10,066
Peak month: August
Counties with records: 35
IUCN Red List: Endangered
Scientific name: Cetorhinus maximus
Group: Fish
NBN Atlas records since 2000: 358
Most recorded in: Cornwall, Argyll and Bute, Highland, North Ayrshire, Na h-Eileanan Siar
Conservation designations: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Bern Convention, Global Red List (JNCC), OSPAR list, Biodiversity List – Northern Ireland, Biodiversity List – England, Biodiversity List – Wales, UK BAP priority species, Scottish Biodiversity List
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Lamniformes
Family: Cetorhinidae
Genus: Cetorhinus
Name with authority: Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765)
Described: 1765
Contributing datasets: 23