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You may wonder why this fish is called a whale shark. Scientists have determined that it is a species of shark, because of its skeleton (composed entirely of cartilage), and its tough, leathery, scaleless skin. People called it a whale shark because of its enormous size (like a whale), not because it's a type of whale. A whale is a mammal; a warmblooded creature that has lungs and breathes air, gives birth to its young and nurses them with milk produced by mammary glands. A shark is a fish; it "breathes" its oxygen by passing water over its gills. But no a Whale Shark is not a mammal because it it both half and half warm blooded so it is not a mammal.
A whaleshark is not a mammal. They are one of the largest types of sharks, whale is in their name because of their size, although they aren't related to whales.

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