Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system

Español  Contact

Species: Carcharhinus melanopterus, Blacktip reef Shark

All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

D1 & C bottom lobe: bright black tips + white inner boundary
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

Species Data Create Report Export as Word File Export as Excel File
Salinity
  • Marine
  • Marine Only
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom + water column
  • Near Bottom
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
  • Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
  • Rocks
  • Corals
  • Water column
FishBase Habitat
  • Reef Associated
Feeding Group
  • Data
  • Carnivore
Diet
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
  • Data
  • Bony fishes
  • Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
Egg Type
  • Live birth
  • Data
  • No pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • TEP non-endemic
  • Indo-Pacific only (Indian + Pacific Oceans)
Regional Endemism
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
  • Island (s)
  • Island (s) only
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
IUCN Red List
  • Near threatened
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 180
Depth Range Min
  • 0
Depth Range Max
  • 75