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What To Look For:
A large, dark grey shark with white fin tips and white posterior
margins on all fins. This shark is also known as the Silvertip Shark.
Color:
Dark grey above, sometimes with bronze tinge, and white below. All
fins have conspicuous white tips and posterior margins. Faint white
band on flank.
Size:
Males mature between 5.25 and 5.9 ft (1.6 and 1.8 m), females at 5.25
and 6.5 ft (1.6 and 1.99 m). Maximum size is about 9.8 ft (3 m).
Teeth:
Teeth in upper jaw are broad and strongly serrated, those in the lower
jaw are awl-shaped and serrated.
Habitat:
Common to abundant, coastal-pelagic tropical, inshore and offshore
shark. Often found over or adjacent to continental shelves and offshore
banks from the surface to 800 ft (243 m). The shark has a strong
preference for offshore islands, coral reefs and banks. It occurs inside
lagoons and near drop-offs to well offshore, but is not truly oceanic.
It ranges through the water column from the surface to the bottom, and
will often follow boars at the surface. Young sharks are restricted to
shallower water closer to shore, while adults are more free-ranging.
Distribution:
Western Indian Ocean, Western and Eastern Pacific Ocean, possibly
Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Biology:
• Prey:
Feeds on a variety of midwater and bottom fishes: wrasses, soles and
rays, but also preys on flyingfish, tuna, bonito, wahoo, as well as
octopus.
• Reproduction:
Viviparous, with yolk-sac placenta. Litter size ranges from 1 to 11, but
usually 5 or 6. Size at birth is 25 to 26.7 inches (63 to 68 cm). Pups
are born in summer after a gestation period of about a year.
Behaviour:
• Feeding:
The silvertip shark often swims at the periphery of a group of feeding
sharks of other species, then suddenly dashes in to take some food.
With its own species: individuals of this species are reported to be
very aggressive towards each other and individuals often have combat
scars.
Disposition:
In baited situations this species tends to be bolder than many other
similar sized sharks.
• Danger To Humans:
Due to its large size, abundance around offshore reefs and its
aggressiveness this species is regarded as dangerous to humans, although
few attacks are attributed to it. Cousteau conducted a baited experiment
in which a dummy, dressed as a SCUBA diver, had its leg removed by a
large silvertip. This experiment suggests that the shark may be capable
of fatally injuring a diver, particularly when a food stimulus is in the
water.
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