Blacktip reef shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
- Scientific name
- Carcharhinus melanopterus
- Group
- Sharks & Rays
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Vulnerable
Did you know?
The blacktip reef shark, easily recognized by the dark tips on its fins, patrols the shallow waters of reef flats — sometimes so shallow its dorsal fin breaks the surface. Curious but wary of humans, it is now vulnerable due to overfishing and the degradation of coastal reefs.
What defines this group — Sharks & Rays
The cartilaginous fish: not a single bone in the body, a skeleton made entirely of cartilage.
- A cartilage skeleton, lighter and more flexible than bone.
- No gill cover: five to seven gill slits open on the sides or underneath.
- Pores on the snout — the ampullae of Lorenzini — pick up the electric field of prey.
Other species in this group
- Common stingray
- Small-spotted catshark
- Common torpedo ray
- Bluespotted ribbontail ray
- Thornback ray
- Spiny dogfish