Blacktip Shark
Species Facts
Science Name: Carcharhinus limbatus
Size: Commonly 5 - 30 pounds and up to 8 feet long.
World Record: 122.75 kg (270 lb 9 oz)
Description

"The blacktip shark has a robust, streamlined body with a long, pointed snout and relatively small eyes. The five pairs of gill slits are longer than those of similar requiem shark species.[2] The jaws contain 15 tooth rows on either side, with 2 symphysial teeth (at the jaw midline) in the upper jaw and 1 symphysial tooth in the lower jaw. The teeth are broad-based with a high, narrow cusp and serrated edges.[3] The first dorsal fin is tall and falcate (sickle-shaped) with a short free rear tip; there is no ridge running between the first and second dorsal fins. The large pectoral fins are falcate and pointed.[2] The coloration is gray to brown above and white below, with a conspicuous white stripe running along the sides. The pectoral fins, second dorsal fin, and the lower lobe of the caudal fin usually have black tips. The pelvic fins and rarely the anal fin may also be black-tipped. The first dorsal fin and the upper lobe of the caudal fin typically have black edges.[2] Some larger individuals have unmarked or nearly unmarked fins.[4] Blacktip sharks can temporarily lose almost all their colors during blooms, or ""whitings"", of coccolithophores.[11] This species attains a maximum known length of 2.8 m (9.0 ft), though 1.5 m (4.9 ft) is more typical, and a maximum known weight of 123 kg (271 lb).[5]

Distribution and Habitat

"The blacktip shark has a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical waters. In the Atlantic, it is found from Massachusetts to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and from the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira, and the Canary Islands to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It occurs all around the periphery of the Indian Ocean, from South Africa and Madagascar to the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent, to Southeast Asia. In the western Pacific, it is found from southern China to northern Australia, including the Philippines and Indonesia. In the eastern Pacific, it occurs from Baja California to Peru. It has also been reported at a number of Pacific islands, including New Caledonia, Tahiti, the Marquesas, Hawaii, Revillagigedo, and the Galápagos.[2] Most blacktip sharks are found in water less than 30 m (100 ft) deep over continental and insular shelves, though they may dive to 64 m (210 ft).[5] Favored habitats are muddy bays, island lagoons, and the drop-offs near coral reefs; they are also tolerant of low salinity and enter estuaries and mangrove swamps. Although an individual may be found some distance offshore, blacktip sharks do not inhabit oceanic waters.[2] Seasonal migration has been documented for the population off the east coast of the United States, moving north to North Carolina in the summer and south to Florida in the winter.[10]

Sources

1.^ a b Musick, J.A. and Fowler, S. (2000). Carcharhinus limbatus. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2007. Retrieved on April 27, 2009. 2.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Compagno, L.J.V. (1984). Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization. pp. 481–483. ISBN 9251013845. 3.^ a b c d e f Curtis, T. Biological Profiles: Blacktip Shark. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on April 27, 2009. 4.^ a b c d Ebert, D.A. (2003). Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras of California. London: University of California Press. pp. 156–157. ISBN 0520234847. 5.^ a b c Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2009). "Carcharhinus limbatus" in FishBase. April 2009 version. 6.^ Dosay-Akbulut, M. (2008). "The phylogenetic relationship within the genus Carcharhinus". Comptes Rendus Biologies 331 (7): 500–509. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2008.04.001. PMID 18558373. 7.^ Keeney, D.B. and Heist, E.J. (Oct. 2006). "Worldwide phylogeography of the blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) inferred from mitochondrial DNA reveals isolation of western Atlantic populations coupled with recent Pacific dispersal". Molecular Ecology 15 (12): 3669–3679. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03036.x. PMID 17032265. 8.^ Benson. R.N., ed (1998). Geology and Paleontology of the Lower Miocene Pollack Farm Fossil Site, Delaware: Delaware Geological Survey Special Publication No. 21. Delaware Natural History Survey. pp. 133–139. 9.^ Brown, R.C. (2008). Florida's Fossils: Guide to Location, Identification, and Enjoyment (third ed.). Pineapple Press Inc. p. 100. ISBN 1561644099. 10.^ a b c d e Castro, J.I. (Nov. 1996). "Biology of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, off the southeastern United States". Bulletin of Marine Science 59 (3): 508–522. 11.^ Martin, R.A. Albinism in Sharks. ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved on April 28, 2009. 12.^ Heupel, M.R. and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2005). "Quantitative analysis of aggregation behavior in juvenile blacktip sharks". Marine Biology 147: 1239–1249. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-0004-7. 13.^ Heupel, M.R. and Hueter, R.E. (2002). "The importance of prey density in relation to the movement patterns of juvenile sharks within a coastal nursery area". Marine and Freshwater Research 53: 543–550. doi:10.1071/MF01132. 14.^ Bullard, S.A., Frasca, A. (Jr.) and Benz, G.W. (Jun. 2000). "Skin Lesions Caused by Dermophthirius penneri (Monogenea: Microbothriidae) on Wild-Caught Blacktip Sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus)". Journal of Parasitology 86 (3): 618–622. doi:10.1645/0022-3395(2000)086[0618:SLCBDP]2.0.CO;2. 15.^ Bullard, S.A., Benz, G.W. and Braswell, J.S. (2000). "Dionchus postoncomiracidia (Monogenea: Dionchidae) from the skin of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus (Carcharhinidae)". Journal of Parasitology (86): 245–250. 16.^ Rosa-Molinar, E. and Williams, C.S. (1983). "Larval nematodes (Philometridae) in granulomas in ovaries of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus (Valenciennes)". Journal of Wildlife Diseases 19 (3): 275–277. PMID 6644926. 17.^ Riner, E.K. and Brijnnschweiler, J.M. (2003). "Do sharksuckers, Echeneis naucrates, induce jump behaviour in blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus?". Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 36 (2): 111–113. doi:10.1080/1023624031000119584. 18.^ Brunnschweiler, J.M. (2005). "Water-escape velocities in jumping blacktip sharks". Journal of the Royal Society Interface 2 (4): 389–391. doi:10.1098/rsif.2005.0047. PMC 1578268. PMID 16849197. 19.^ Ritter, E.K. and Godknecht, A.J. (Feb. 1, 2000). Ross, S. T.. ed. "Agonistic Displays in the Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)". Copeia 2000 (1): 282–284. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2000)2000[0282:ADITBS]2.0.CO;2. 20.^ a b c Barry, K.P. (2002). Feeding habits of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, in Louisiana coastal waters. MS thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. 21.^ Dudley, S.F.J. and Cliff, G. (1993). "Sharks caught in the protective gill nets off Natal, South Africa. 7. The blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Valenciennes)". African Journal of Marine Science 13: 237–254. 22.^ a b Keeney, D.B., Heupel, M., Hueter, R.E. and Heist, E.J. (2003). "Genetic heterogeneity among blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, continental nurseries along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico". Marine Biology 143: 1039–1046. doi:10.1007/s00227-003-1166-9. 23.^ Bornatowski, H. (2008). "A parturition and nursery area for Carcharhinus limbatus (Elasmobranchii, Carcharhinidae) off the coast of Paraná, Brazil". Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 56 (4): 317–319. 24.^ Keeney, D.B., Heupel, M.R., Hueter, R.E. and Heist, E.J. (2005). "Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses of the genetic structure of blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) nurseries in the northwestern Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea". Molecular Ecology 14 (7): 1911–1923. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02549.x. PMID 15910315. 25.^ a b c Capapé, C.H., Seck, A.A., Diatta, Y., Reynaud, C.H., Hemida, F. and Zaouali, J. (2004). "Reproductive biology of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) off West and North African Coasts". Cybium 28 (4): 275–284. 26.^ Heupel, M.R. and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2002). "Estimation of mortality of juvenile blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus, within a nursery area using telemetry data". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59 (4): 624–632. doi:10.1139/f02-036. 27.^ a b c Branstetter, S. (Dec. 9, 1987). "Age and Growth Estimates for Blacktip, Carcharhinus limbatus, and Spinner, C. brevipinna, Sharks from the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico". Copeia (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists) 1987 (4): 964–974. doi:10.2307/1445560. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1445560. 28.^ a b c d Fowler, S.L., Cavanagh, R.D., Camhi, M., Burgess, G.H., Cailliet, G.M., Fordham, S.V., Simpfendorfer, C.A. and Musick, J.A. (2005). Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: The Status of the Chondrichthyan Fishes. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. pp. 106–109, 293–295. ISBN 2831707005. 29.^ a b Killam, K.A. and Parsons, G.R. (May 1989). "Age and Growth of the Blacktip Shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, near Tampa Bay". Florida Fishery Bulletin 87: 845–857. 30.^ Wintner, S.P. and Cliff, G. (1996). "Age and growth determination of the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, from the east coast of South Africa". Fishery Bulletin 94 (1): 135–144. 31.^ Chapman, D.D., Firchau, B. and Shivji, M.S. (2008). "Parthenogenesis in a large-bodied requiem shark, the blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus". Journal of Fish Biology 73: 1473–1477. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.02018.x. 32.^ ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.