Sharks Codexery

Silvertip shark

A large requiem shark with distinctive white fin margins.

Last updated

Silvertip shark

Kendall Clements / University of Auckland · via Wikipedia: Silvertip shark · CC BY 4.0

Silvertip sharks are blue-gray with a bronze sheen, white below, a faint white stripe along the sides, and white tips and borders on all fins.[1] It lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, often around isolated islands and coral reefs.[2][3]

Scientific classification

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

Named by (Rüppell, 1837)

Close relatives

Other species of Carcharhinus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Silvertip shark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 217352 (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
2024

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

How big is it?

Size comparison: Silvertip shark and a personA 3 m long silvertip shark drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.3 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 3 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the silvertip shark has been recorded

Where the silvertip shark has been recorded101 mapped locations from 19,609 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Galápagos IslandsIndian OceanPacific OceanGalápagos Islands

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (19,609 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 7 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Description

The heaviest silvertip shark on record weighed 162.2 kg, and females tend to be bigger than males.[1] Silvertip sharks have a fairly long, wide snout and big, round eyes.[4]

Biology and ecology

Like other requiem sharks, the silvertip shark is viviparous, meaning the young develop inside the mother and are nourished through a placental connection.[5] Bigger silvertip sharks tend to be slower and go after prey that lives on the seafloor.[6] Silvertip sharks tend to stay in the same area and have been seen acting territorial.[7] You'll usually see them alone or in pairs, but sometimes small groups of adult females hang out in deep water.[7]

When food is on the line, they'll boss around Galapagos sharks and blacktip sharks that are the same size.[2] Females have litters of 1 to 11 pups after being pregnant for about a year, and they breed every other year.[5] Different researchers have reported newborn pups measuring anywhere from 63 to 68 cm, or 73 to 81 cm long.[8]

Human interactions

Silvertip sharks are inquisitive and bold, especially around food, and several will rush up from deep water to inspect divers when they first enter.[9] Fishermen catch silvertip sharks on longlines, in gillnets, and with trawls all over their range, both on purpose and as bycatch.[10] Because silvertip sharks reproduce slowly and tend to stay in one area, they're easy to overfish.[11]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

German naturalist Eduard Rüppell first described the silvertip shark in 1837, calling it Carcharias albimarginatus.[12] Based on how they look, their tooth shape, and their backbone features, scientists think the grey reef shark is the silvertip's closest relative.[12] There are also silvertip shark fossils from the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene in Chile and Ecuador.[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bester, Cathleen. Biological Profiles: Silvertip Shark, Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on February 12, 2009.; "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 158–159 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457; "Coastal fishes of Oman", University of Hawaii Press, 1995, p. 28; Bester, Cathleen. Biological Profiles: Silvertip Shark, Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on February 12, 2009.; "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 158–159 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457; "A Guide to the Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa", Struik, 1993, p. 34 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands", Stanford University Press, 1997, p. 73–76; Murch, A. Silvertip Shark. Elasmodiver.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Carcharhinus albimarginatus (silvertip shark)", Animal Diversity Web; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457; "Carcharhinus albimarginatus (silvertip shark)", Animal Diversity Web; Stafford-Deitsch, J., "Red Sea Sharks", Trident Press Ltd., 1999, p. 34, 53, 70; "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 158–159; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Kn en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stevens, J.D., "Life-history and ecology of sharks at Aldabra Atoll, Indian Ocean", Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 1984, p. 79–106; Murch, A. Silvertip Shark. Elasmodiver.com. Retrieved on February 12, 2009.; "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 158–159 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Espinoza, M., "Carcharhinus albimarginatus", 2016; "Sharks, Skates, and Rays", The Johns Hopkins Press, 1967, p. 93–109; Espinoza, M., "Carcharhinus albimarginatus", 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jackson, J., "Diving With Sharks and Other Adventure Dives", New Holland Publishers, 2000, p. 31; Powell, D.C., "A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer", University of California Press, 2003, p. 138–139; "The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands", Stanford University Press, 1997, p. 73–76; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457; ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. International Sh en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Espinoza, M., "Carcharhinus albimarginatus", 2016; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Espinoza, M., "Carcharhinus albimarginatus", 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date", Food and Agricultural Organization, 1984, p. 455–457; Bester, Cathleen. Biological Profiles: Silvertip Shark, Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on February 12, 2009.; Bray, Dianne J. (2011) Silvertip Shark, Carcharhinus albimarginatus (Rüppell 1837), in Fishes of Australia; Compagno, Leonard J.V., "Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Silvertip shark" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Long, "Late Miocene and Early Pliocene fish assemblages from the north central coast of Chile", Tertiary Research, 1993, p. 117–126; Höltke, "A Review of the Paleobiology of Some Neogene Sharks and the Fossil Records of Extant Shark Species", Diversity, 2024-02-26, p. 147; Chávez-Hoffmeister, "The Neogene record of cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes: Holocephali, Elasmobranchii) from northern Chile: A review and identification guide", Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2023-04-01 (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 Silvertip 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 tephrodes

Named in this entry

Grouper

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Requiem sharkAbdouniaBlue sharkRiver sharkWhitetip reef sharkCarcharhinusAustralian blacktip sharkBignose sharkBlacknose sharkBlackspot sharkBlacktip reef sharkBlacktip shark

Elsewhere in Sharks

Wobbegong · Carpet sharksGreenland shark · Dogfish sharks and relativesSawshark · Dogfish sharks and relativesHammerhead shark · Hammerhead sharksGreat white shark · Mackerel sharksBasking shark · Mackerel sharks

Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the silvertip shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinus albimarginatus.

2. Who first scientifically described the silvertip shark?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Eduard Rüppell.

3. To which biological family does the silvertip shark belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Carcharhinidae.

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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