Species: Carcharhinus altimus, Bignose Shark
nostril flaps high, triangular
Carcharhinus altimus (Springer, 1950)
Bignose Shark
Heavy body; snout long, broad, and slightly pointed, its length >/= mouth width; eye round; distance from nostrils to mouth < 2.4x mouth width; flaps on front of nostrils large and triangular; upper teeth serrated, triangular (longer than base width) and slightly oblique, the center pair erect, lower teeth with narrow points, finely serrated edges; prominent ridge present on back between dorsal fins; 1st dorsal fin high, (8.3-11.9% of TL, <1/2 length before D), its origin over/near rear insertion of pectoral fin; apex of first dorsal bluntly pointed; second dorsal fin length of its inner margin <1.5X fin height; pectoral fin long, relatively straight; tail base without keel; tail fin strongly asymmetrical, with well developed lower lobe, undulating ridge along dorsal surface of top lobe, and a notch under tip of that lobe.
Grey, becoming whitish below; distal ends of all fins except pelvics dusky, with pigment on tips of pectorals darker on underside of fins.
Reaches 300 cm; size at birth 65-80 cm.
Habitat: offshore, bottom living, juveniles shallow water.
Depth: 0-810 m, usually below 90 m.
Circumglobal distribution in temperate and tropical seas; the Gulf of California to Peru.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Water column only
- Near Bottom
- Habitat
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- Water column
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Sharks/rays
- Egg Type
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- No pelagic larva
- Live birth
- No data
- Global Endemism
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- TEP non-endemic
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- All species
- All Pacific (West + Central + East)
- "Transpacific" (East + Central &/or West Pacific)
- Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America)
- East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West)
- East Pacific + all Atlantic (East+West)
- Regional Endemism
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- All species
- Island (s)
- Continent + Island (s)
- Eastern Pacific non-endemic
- Continent
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Antitropical (North and South temperate)
- North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California)
- South Temperate (Peruvian Province )
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 300
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 810