Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)

Blacktip reef shark

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Elasmobranchii \| Carcharhiniformes \| Carcharhinidae
Synonyms	Carcharias melanopterus, Carcharias elegans, Carcharias marianensis, ... more
Common names	Requin pointes noires, Tiburón de puntas negras, Black tips nilow, ... more

You can sponsor this page

Upload your photos and videos
| All pictures | Google image | Stamps |

Image of Carcharhinus melanopterus (Blacktip reef shark)

Picture by Moreau, J.

Play video

Add your observation in Fish Watcher

| Native range | PointMap |

AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. (Ref. 244)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5578); max. published weight: 13.6 kg (Ref. 40637)

Environment

Reef-associated; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); brackish; marine; depth range 20 - 75 m (Ref. 37816)

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 35°N - 25°S, 7°E - 134°W

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands and the Tuamoto Archipelago. Apparently rare or absent in the more easterly groups. Also eastern Mediterranean (through the Suez Canal).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A small shark with a short, bluntly rounded snout, oval eyes, and narrow-cusped teeth; 2nd dorsal fin large; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Yellow-brown above, white below; all fins conspicuous with black or dark brown tips also anterior and posterior dark edging on pectoral fins and upper lobe of caudal fin; a prominent black tip of first dorsal fin set off abruptly by a light band below it; a conspicuous dark band on flanks, extending rearward to pelvic fins (Ref. 9997).

Inhabits shallow water close inshore on coral reefs and in the intertidal zone (reef flats), near reef drop-offs and close offshore (Ref. 244, 58302). Also found in mangrove areas, moving in and out with the tide (Ref. 6871) and even in fresh water, but not in tropical lakes and rivers far from the sea (Ref. 9997). Occurs singly or in small groups (Ref. 244, 54301). Prefers fishes but also feeds on crustaceans, cephalopods and other mollusks (Ref. 6871). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). May become aggressive to spear fishers and has been reported to bite people wading in shallow water (Ref. 6871). Reported to cause poisoning (Ref. 4690). 2 to 4 young of 46 to 52 cm are born per litter (Ref. 1602). Generally marketed fresh (as fillet), may be dried, salted, smoked (Ref. 5284) or frozen (Ref. 9987). Fins are valued for shark-fin soup (Ref. 9987); liver as source of oil (Ref. 9997). This species is commonly seen in public aquaria (Ref. 54301).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Lower Risk: near threatened (LR/nt)	Traumatogenic (Ref. 4690)

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
Biogeographic modelling \| Bio-Quiz \| E-book \| Field guide \| Identification keys \| Length-frequency wizard \| Life-history tool \| Point map

Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML
Summary page \| Point data \| Common names \| Photos

Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=2)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High vulnerability (64 of 100)	Medium

Entered by Carpenter, Kent E.

Modified by Ortañez, Auda Kareen

Back to Search

Fish Forum

Comments & Corrections

Sign our Guest Book

FishBase mirror site : US - CGNET

Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

Custom Search