Oceanic whitetip shark

Not to be confused with whitetip reef shark.

Oceanic whitetip shark
Female individual surrounded by pilot fish in the Red Sea
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Species:
C. longimanus
Binomial name
Carcharhinus longimanus
(Poey, 1861)
Range of the oceanic whitetip shark
Synonyms[3]
  • Carcharias obtusus (Garman, 1881)
  • Squalus longimanus Poey, 1861
  • Carcharias longimanus (Poey, 1861)
  • Pterolamiops longimanus (Poey, 1861)
  • Carcharinus longimanus (Poey, 1861)
  • Squalus maou (Lesson, 1831)
  • Carcharhinus maou (Lesson, 1831)
  • Carcharias insularum (Snyder, 1904)
  • Pterolamiops magnipinnis (Smith, 1958)
  • Pterolamiops budkeri (Fourmanoir, 1961)

The oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) is a large pelagic requiem shark inhabiting tropical and warm temperate seas. It has a stocky body with long, white-tipped, rounded fins. The species is typically solitary, though they may gather in large numbers at food concentrations. Bony fish and cephalopods are the main components of its diet and females give live birth.

Though slow-moving, the shark is opportunistic and aggressive, and is reputed to be dangerous to shipwreck survivors. The IUCN Red List considers the species to be critically endangered. Recent studies show steeply declining populations as they are harvested for their fins and meat. As with other shark species, the whitetip faces mounting fishing pressure throughout its range.

  1. ^ Rigby, C.L.; Barreto, R.; Carlson, J.; Fernando, D.; Fordham, S.; Francis, M.P.; Herman, K.; Jabado, R.W.; Liu, K.M.; Marshall, A.; Pacoureau, N.; Romanov, E.; Sherley, R.B.; Winker, H. (2019). "Carcharhinus longimanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T39374A2911619. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T39374A2911619.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference fishbase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).