Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

Scientific name: Carcharhinus limbatus M?ller & Henle, 1839

Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

The Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) is a brackish-water fish of the family Carcharhinidae.

Biology

An inshore and offshore shark found on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves. Often off river mouths and estuaries, muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs. Bottom associated or pelagic. Young common along beaches. Active hunter in midwater. Feeds mainly on pelagic and benthic fishes, also small sharks and rays, cephalopods and crustaceans. Viviparous. Produces litters of one to 10 young. Incriminated in very few attacks but dangerous when provoked. Often taken by shore anglers. Used fresh for human consumption, hides for leather, liver for oil. Parthenogenesis has been observed in a captive female.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Carcharhinus limbatus
Family
Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Order
Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks)
Class
Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length
275
Common length
150
Depth range
0–64 m (0–210 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; amphidromous; depth range 0 - 64 m, usually 0 - 30 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Cosmopolitan. Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Brazil. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Mediterranean. Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, Madagascar and South Africa to China, Australia, Tahiti, Marquesas, and Hawaii. Eastern Pacific: Baja California, Mexico to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Near Threatened (NT)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (rm=0.054; K=0.27; tm=3-8; tmax=18; Fec=1-10)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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