Copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus)

Scientific name: Carcharhinus brachyurus G?nther, 1870

Copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus)

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

Biology

A coastal and offshore shark found along continental margins in most tropical and temperate seas. Occasionally enters large coastal bays and inshore areas. Occasionally found near the bottom. Migratory in the northern part of its range, moving northward in spring and summer and southward in autumn and winter. Feeds on pelagic and bottom bony fishes, cephalopods, and small sharks and rays. Viviparous. Undoubtedly utilized for human consumption where it occurs. Implicated in shark attacks on people.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Carcharhinus brachyurus
Family
Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks)
Order
Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks)
Class
Elasmobranchii (Sharks and Rays)
Maximum length
325
Depth range
0–360 m (0–1181 ft)
Environment
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 360 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Mexico, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil to Argentina. Eastern Atlantic: off France southward and around the coast of southern Africa to central Natal, South Africa, including the Mediterranean. Possibly two separate populations in southern Africa. Western Pacific: Japan to New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to the Gulf of California in Mexico and Peru.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Near Threatened (NT)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04; tm=5-20; tmax=30; Fec=7)

Sources

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

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