Scientific name: Carcharhinus limbatus

Common names: Blacktip shark, blackfin shark, blacktip whaler, common or small blacktip shark, grey shark, and spotfin ground shark

Habitat: Continental and insular shelves. Usually close inshore (off river mouths, in estuaries, shallow muddy bays, saline mangrove swamps, islands lagoons and coral reef dropoffs), sometimes offshore but rarely deeper than 30 metres. Tollerates reduced salinities but not fresh water.

Known Predators: Adults have no known predators.

Measurements: Born: 38 - 72 cm

Males: 135 - 180 cm

Females: 120 - 190 cm

Max: 225 cm

Identification: Fairly large stout grey to grey-brown shark, white below, conspicuous white band on flanks. Fin tips usually black on pectorals, second dorsal, and ventral caudal lobe, sometimes on pelvic and anal fins (anal usually plain); usually black edges on first dorsal apex and dorsal caudal lobe (some adults lack black tips). Long narrow pointed snout, small eyes, narrow-cusped erect upper teeth, long gill slits, high first dorsal fin and no interdorsal ridge.

Behaviour: Often segregated by age and sex and seasonally migratory. Very active, fast swimmer, often in large surface schools. May leap out of the water and rotate up to three times around its axis before dropping back into the see at the end of a feeding run on small schooling fishes, but less often than Spinner sharks. May enter feeding frenzy on highly consentrated food source.

Biology: Viviparous, yolk-sax placenta.  One to ten pups per litter (commonly  four to seven).  Born in inshore nursery grounds after 10 - 12 months. Gestation in alternate years.

Diet: sardines, herring, anchovies, ladyfish, sea catfish, cornetfish, flatfish, threadfins, mullet, mackerel, jacks, groupers, snoek, porgies, mojarras, emperors, grunts, butterfish, tilapia, triggerfish, boxfish and porcupinefish. They also feed on rays and skates, as well as smaller sharks such as smoothhounds and sharpnose sharks.

IUCN Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Distribution: