Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

A whale shark (Rhincodon typus) has been documented completing the longest recorded trans-Pacific migration, traveling over 20,000 kilometers from Coiba Island (Panama) to the Mariana Trench in the western Indo-Pacific. This female whale shark, tagged in Panama's Tropical Eastern Pacific, traversed the North Equatorial Current over 841 days, providing evidence of connectivity between ocean basins and potential migratory pathways into the Philippine Sea and South China Sea. The study utilized satellite tracking to map this unprecedented journey, offering new insights into the movement patterns and population dynamics of whale sharks across vast distances.

Guzman, H. M., Gomez, C. G., Hearn, A., & Eckert, S. A. (2018). Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Marine Biodiversity Records, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41200-018-0143-4