Sharks Codexery

Blacktip shark

Swift, energetic piscivore known for spinning leaps from the water.

Last updated

Blacktip shark

Albert kok · via Wikipedia: Blacktip shark · CC BY-SA 4.0

Blacktip sharks are fast, energetic predators that live in tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world.[1][2] They're listed as vulnerable because they have a low reproductive rate.[3][4]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderCarcharhiniformes
  7. FamilyCarcharhinidae
  8. GenusCarcharhinus
  9. SpeciesCarcharhinus limbatus

Named by (J. P. Müller & Henle, 1839)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Blacktip shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105793 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU▲ this species
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Blacktip shark and a personA 2.8 m long blacktip shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.2.8 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 2.8 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Blacktip shark

Where the blacktip shark has been recorded

Where the blacktip shark has been recorded154 mapped locations from 44,579 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (44,579 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 60 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Description

This shark has a strong, smooth body, a long pointed nose, and eyes that are pretty small compared to its size.[5] The biggest blacktip shark ever recorded measured 2.8 meters long and weighed 123 kilograms, though most are around 1.5 meters.[6]

Biology and ecology

Blacktip sharks are viviparous—the young grow inside the mother's body.[7] Females typically give birth to four to seven pups every other year.[7] Roughly 90% of what a blacktip shark eats is fish.[8] They do most of their hunting around sunrise and sunset.[9]

Once they're fully grown, blacktip sharks don't have any natural enemies that hunt them.[10] Blacktips mate from spring into early summer, and the pups are born 10 to 12 months later.[11] During their first 15 months of life, between 61 and 91 percent of young blacktip sharks die.[11]

Distribution and habitat

They really like muddy bays, lagoons around islands, and the steep drop-offs next to coral reefs.[12] These sharks can handle low-salinity water, so they'll swim into estuaries and mangrove swamps.[12]

Human interactions

Commercial fisheries around the world catch blacktip sharks in large numbers.[5] Most of the time, these shy sharks aren't considered very dangerous to people.[13] But if there's food around, they may become aggressive.[13] Most blacktip shark attacks on humans only cause minor injuries.[14]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Scientists originally thought the blacktip's closest relatives were the graceful shark and the spinner shark.[15]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Yano, "Confirmation of blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, in the Ryukyu Islands and notes on possible absence ofC. melanopterus in Japanese waters", Ichthyological Research, 1999-06-01, p. 193–198 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ebert, D.A., "Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras of California", University of California Press, 2003, p. 156–157; Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Curtis, T. Biological Profiles: Blacktip Shark . Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on April 27, 2009.; Fowler, S.L., "Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of the Chondrichthyan Fishes", International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2005, p. 106–109, 293–295; Rigby, C.L., "Carcharhinus limbatus", 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. IUCN Red List assessment (category and year as redistributed in GBIF's IUCN Red List checklist). IUCN Red List terms: fact (category, year) cited, no text reused. iucnredlist.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483; Ebert, D.A., "Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras of California", University of California Press, 2003, p. 156–157; Martin, R.A. Albinism in Sharks. ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved on April 28, 2009.; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483; Keeney, D.B., "Genetic heterogeneity among blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, continental nurseries along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico", Marine Biology, 2003, p. 1039–1046; Bornatowski, H., "A parturition and nursery area for Carcharhinus limbatus (Elasmobranchii, Carcharhinidae) off the coast of Paraná, Brazil", Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, 200 en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barry, K.P., "Feeding habits of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, in Louisiana coastal waters", Louisiana State University, 2002; "Carcharhinus limbatus Shark", Animal Diversity Web (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483; "Carcharhinus limbatus Shark", Animal Diversity Web; Barry, K.P., "Feeding habits of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, in Louisiana coastal waters", Louisiana State University, 2002; "Sharks caught in the protective gill nets off Natal, South Africa. 7. The blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Valencienn en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Quantitative analysis of aggregation behavior in juvenile blacktip sharks", Marine Biology, 2005, p. 1239–1249; "The importance of prey density in relation to the movement patterns of juvenile sharks within a coastal nursery area", Marine and Freshwater Research, 2002, p. 543–550; Curtis, T. Biological Profiles: Blacktip Shark . Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on April 27, 2009.; Curtis, T. Biological Profiles: Blacktip Shark . Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on Apr en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483; Capapé, C.H., "Reproductive biology of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) off West and North African Coasts", Cybium, 2004, p. 275–284; Castro, J.I., "Biology of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, off the southeastern United States", Bulletin of Marine Science, November 1996, p. 508–522; Castro, J.I., "Biology en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, L.J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 481–483; ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Retrieved on April 22, (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Curtis, T. Biological Profiles: Blacktip Shark . Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on April 27, 2009. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  15. Wikipedia, "Blacktip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dosay-Akbulut, M., "The phylogenetic relationship within the genus Carcharhinus", Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2008, p. 500–509 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Blacktip shark (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Carcharhinidae)

Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovaeBorneo broadfin shark Lamiopsis tephrodesBrazilian sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon lalandiiBroadfin shark Lamiopsis temminckiiGanges shark Glyphis gangeticus

Named in this entry

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which biological family does the blacktip shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinidae.

2. In what year was the blacktip shark first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1839.

3. What is the IUCN Red List category of the blacktip shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Vulnerable.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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