Species: Carcharhinus melanopterus, Blacktip reef Shark
upper C & other fins: black edges
Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
Blacktip Reef Shark
Body moderately stout; snout very short, blunt, rounded; round eye; spiracle absent; upper lip folds very short; teeth serrated, upper teeth with narrow, oblique points, a small point on each side of base, lower teeth with a ~straight, narrow point; 5 gill slits, last 2 over pectoral fin base; 1st dorsal fin moderately large, with narrow rounded to pointed tip, its origin over inner free margin of pectoral; 2nd dorsal fin high, origin over/slightly before anal fin origin; no longitudinal ridge on center of back between dorsal fins; pectorals moderately long, narrow rounded to pointed tips; tail strongly asymmetrical, with well developed lower lobe, undulating ridge along dorsal surface of top lobe, and a notch under tip of that lobe.
Yellow-brown above, white below; first dorsal and lower tail lobe with brilliant broad black tips, bounded by white areas inside each; rest of tail fin and other fins with black margins.
Grows to ~180 cm; size at birth 35-52 cm.
Habitat: shallow water reef habitats; occasionally in brackish and fresh water; rarely offshore
Depth: 0-75 m.
Tropical Indo-Pacific; recently established a breeding population at Cocos Is.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom + water column
- Near Bottom
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Rocks
- Corals
- Water column
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
-
- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Data
- Bony fishes
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Live birth
- Data
- No pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- TEP non-endemic
- Indo-Pacific only (Indian + Pacific Oceans)
- Regional Endemism
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- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Island (s)
- Island (s) only
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
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- Near threatened
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 180
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 75