Carcharhinus limbatus
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Carcharhinidae (Requiem Sharks)
Carcharhinus
Carcharhinus limbatus (Blacktip Shark)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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Synonymy
None / Carcharhinus brevipinna (Müller and Henle, 1839).
Characters
Body fusi form, moderately slender. Eyes sm all, internal nictitating lower eyelids pres-
ent. Snout long, preoral length 1.3 to 1.7 times internarial width, its tip narrowly rounded to pointed; anterior
nasal flaps low and broadly triangular; labial furrows short; spiracles absent; gill sl its relatively long, height of
third gill slit about 3.8 to 4.9% of total length; gill arches without papillae. Upper and lower teeth nearly sym-
metrical and similar, with erect, narrow cusps and serrated edges; anteroposterior tooth row counts 14 to
16/13 to 15 on each side, total tooth row counts 29 to 35/27 to 33. First dorsal fin high and broad, height 8.2
to 12.4% of total length; first dorsal fin with a convex or nearly straight anterior margin, a pointed or
very narrowly rounded apex, an origin above, or slightly posterior to insertions of pectoral fins, and the
midlength of its base close to the pectoral-fin insertions and far from the pelvic-fin origins; second dorsal fin
high although much sm aller than the first dorsal fin, height 2.5 to 3.6% of total length; second dorsal fin with a
sh allowly concave posterior margin, an origin over or slightly in front of that of anal fin, a slightly attenuated free
rear tip, and an inner margin less than twice the height of the fin; anal fin with a deeply notched posterior margin
and without long preanal ridges; pectoral fins long, falcate, narrow, and with narrow pointed tips. No
interdorsal ridge between dorsal fins; no keels on caudal peduncle. Precaudal vertebral centra 88 to 102,
total vertebral centra 174 to 203. Colour: back dark grey, ashy blue, or dusky bronze; belly white or yellowish
white. A dark b and extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin; tips of pelvic
fins with a persistent black spot; tips of dorsal, anal, and pectoral fin and the lower lobe of caudal fin usu ally
black or dusky in young individuals, but these markings fade with growth.
Body shape: fusiform / normal. A stout shark with a long, narrow, pointed snout, long gill slits and erect, narrow-cusped upper teeth; first dorsal fin high; no interdorsal ridge (Ref. 5578). Dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on back, belly white or yellowish white; a dark band extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin; tips of pelvic fins with a persistent black spot; tips of dorsal fins, pectoral fins, anal, and lower lobe of caudal fin usually black or dusky in young individuals, fading with growth (Ref. 9997).
Distribution
Widespread in all tropical and sub-
tropical continental waters. Occurring through-
out the area, extending northward to New
Engl and (r are) and southward to sou thern Brazil.
It has been the most common shark around the
Bahamas Isl ands and off sou thern Florida; very
common also around the Antilles and off the
northwest coast of South America.
Habitat Associations
Inhab its coastal as well as offshore surface waters. Occasion ally enters
brackish waters, but not fresh water. Number of young 1 to 10 per litter. Feeds mainly on sm all schooling bony
fishes; also on rays and squids. App arently of little hazard to people. Sought for ecotouristic diving in the Baha-
mas. Caught throughout its range, but especi ally off the Atlantic coast of the USA, on the shrimp grounds in the
Gulf of Mexico and off the nor theast coast of South America. Taken with pelagic longlines, gill nets, demersal
trawls (especi ally shrimp trawls), and on hook-and-line. An important bycatch of the offshore swordfish fishery
in USA waters. Its meat is excellent and is mar-
keted fresh and salted for human consumption,
also caught for its fins and used to produce fish
meal. Skin used in manufacture of various
subproducts and the liver in production of oil
(high in Vitamin A). Highly vulnerable to
overexploitation .
Biology
Maximum total length to about 2.5 m; common to 1.5 m; size at birth about 55 to 72 cm; males maturing at
about 135 to 180 cm and females 120 to 190 cm.
An inshore and offshore shark found on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves (Ref. 244). Often off river mouths and estuaries, muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs (Ref. 244). Bottom associated or pelagic (Ref. 58302). Young common along beaches (Ref. 9710). Active hunter in midwater (Ref. 5485). Feeds mainly on pelagic and benthic fishes, also small sharks and rays, cephalopods and crustaceans (Ref. 5578; 37816). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Produces litters of one to 10 young (Ref. 26938, 1602). Incriminated in very few attacks but dangerous when provoked (Ref. 244). Often taken by shore anglers (Ref. 5485). Used fresh for human consumption, hides for leather, liver for oil (Ref. 244). Parthenogenesis has been observed in a captive female (Ref. 80664).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta, 1 to 10 young per litter. Gestation period is 10 to 12 months. Nursery and pupping grounds are located inshore where pregnant females go to drop their young. Females are thought to spawn only every two years. Size at birth 38-72 cm (Ref. 244); 55-66 cm TL (Ref.58048).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2020-11-18. Resilience: Low (rm=0.054; K=0.27; tm=3-8; tmax=18; Fec=1-10).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO.
Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale (1989) Guide to the sharks and rays of southern Africa. New Holland (Publ.) Ltd., London. 158 p.
Compagno, L.J.V. and V.H. Niem (1998) Carcharhinidae. Requiem sharks. p. 1312-1360. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Vol. 2. Rome: FAO.
Thollot, P. (1996) Les poissons de mangrove du lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie. ORSTOM Éditions, Paris.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Dudley, S.F.J. and G. Cliff (1993) Sharks caught in the protective gill nets off Natal, South Africa. 7. The blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Valenciennes). S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 13:237-254.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Weigmann, S. (2016) Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. J. Fish Biol. 88(1):1-201. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12874
Comments On Carcharhinus limbatus