Copper shark
A slow-growing, temperate requiem shark with disjunct populations worldwide.
The copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus), also called the bronze whaler or narrowtooth shark, is a requiem shark that prefers temperate waters over tropical ones. It lives in scattered populations around the world, including the northeastern and southwestern Atlantic, off southern Africa, the northwestern and eastern Pacific, and near Australia and New Zealand. There are occasional reports from equatorial areas. This shark can be found in brackish rivers, estuaries, shallow bays, harbors, and offshore waters up to 100 meters deep or more. For most of the year, females stay apart from males and migrate seasonally. Growing up to 3.3 meters long, the copper shark is hard to tell apart from other large requiem sharks. Its key features are narrow, hook-shaped upper teeth, no prominent ridge between its dorsal fins, and a plain bronze color.
It feeds mainly on cephalopods, bony fish, and other sharks and rays. A fast swimmer, it sometimes hunts in large groups to take advantage of numbers, but it is usually solitary. Off South Africa, it closely follows the annual sardine run, which involves millions of southern African pilchards. Like other requiem sharks, it gives live birth. The developing embryos get nourishment through a placental connection formed from the yolk sac. Females give birth to litters of 7 to 24 pups every other year in coastal nursery areas, after a gestation period of 12 months, or possibly as long as 21 months. Growth is extremely slow: males reach maturity at 13 to 19 years old, and females at 19 to 20 years old.
Commercial and recreational fisheries value this species for its meat. Its population size is unknown, but the IUCN lists it as vulnerable because its low growth and reproductive rates make it very susceptible to population decline, and numbers are thought to have dropped in some areas. Copper sharks rarely attack humans, but they rank tenth in the number of unprovoked attacks. Still, the total recorded attacks are low: 15 non-fatal, unprovoked incidents and only one fatal unprovoked attack.
Because its range is so patchy, the copper shark has been scientifically described several times from different places. The earliest valid description is from British zoologist Albert Günther in 1870, who named it *Carcharias brachyurus*.
Quick Facts
- Genus
- Carcharhinus
- Species
- brachyurus
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The copper shark has been scientifically described several times from different locales due to its patchy range. The earliest valid description is British zoologist Albert Günther's account of Carcharias brachyurus in 1870. An earlier name, Auguste Duméril's 1865 Carcharias remotus, was later found to be a blacknose shark. The specific epithet brachyurus is derived from the Greek brachys ('short') and oura ('tail'). The name 'whaler' originated in the 19th century from whaling crews who saw large sharks congregating around harpooned whale carcasses.
Feeding mainly on cephalopods, bony fishes, and other cartilaginous fishes, the copper shark is a fast-swimming predator that has been known to hunt in large groups, though for most of the time it remains solitary. Off South Africa, it associates closely with the annual sardine run involving millions of southern African pilchard. Like other requiem sharks, it is viviparous, with developing embryos nourished through a placental connection. Females bear litters every other year in coastal nursery areas.
The copper shark is difficult to distinguish from other large requiem sharks. It is characterized by its narrow, hook-shaped upper teeth, lack of a prominent ridge between the dorsal fins, and plain bronze coloration. The oldest evidence for a copper shark nursery in the fossil record is known from the Pisco Basin of Peru, preserved in the Chilcatay and Pisco Formations from the Early Miocene to the Late Miocene.
Reader's Guide
The copper shark is valued by commercial and recreational fisheries throughout its range and utilized as food. Its population size is unknown, but the IUCN's Red List assesses the species as vulnerable because it is very susceptible to population depletion due to its low growth and reproductive rates, and because its numbers are believed to have declined in some areas. The species is extremely slow-growing, with males and females not reaching maturity until 13–19 and 19–20 years of age respectively, and females bear litters of 7 to 24 pups every other year after a gestation period of 12 or perhaps as long as 21 months. These life-history traits make it particularly vulnerable to overfishing.
Copper sharks attack humans infrequently, but the species places tenth in the number of unprovoked attacks on people. The actual number of recorded shark attacks is low – 15 non-fatal, unprovoked attacks and only one fatal unprovoked attack. The species is distributed in a number of separate populations in the northeastern and southwestern Atlantic, off southern Africa, in the northwestern and eastern Pacific, and around Australia and New Zealand, with scattered reports from equatorial regions. It can be found from brackish rivers and estuaries to shallow bays and harbors, to offshore waters 100 m deep or more.
Did You Know?
- The copper shark is the only member of its genus largely found in temperate rather than tropical waters.
- The species places tenth in the number of unprovoked attacks on people, with only 15 non-fatal and 1 fatal unprovoked attacks recorded.
- The oldest evidence for a copper shark nursery in the fossil record is from the Pisco Basin of Peru, dating to the Early Miocene to Late Miocene.
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