Blacktip Reef Shark Size Guide report

In our impression, sharks are ferocious and frightening marine creatures. However, we will introduce one of the sharks with a mild personality, the blacktip reef shark. The blacktip reef shark (scientific name: Carcharhinus melanopterus) is often mistaken for the blacktip shark in the ocean.

As their name suggests, blacktip reef sharks live in warmer reef waters. The reef-dwellers have black markings on their pelvic fins the oceanic ones lack. Blacktip reef sharks are often found on shallow reefs where their dorsal fin sticks out of the water and are more likely to jump out of the water.

These elegant and mild sharks with black tips on their fins, this classically sleek shark are at home in the stunning coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Although biologists do not believe the species is at immediate risk of extinction, it is vulnerable to negative effects from fishing pressure and habitat destruction. Let's learn more interesting facts about blacktip reef sharks.

Blacktip Reef Shark Size And Characteristics

The blacktip reef shark has a spindle-shaped body, a thick trunk, and a broad and flat head. The dorsal fin and upper side are grayish brown, and the lower side and belly are white. There is a depression on the upper and lower sides of the base of the tail, and the snout is wide, short, and blunt. One of the most distinguishing features is that the tips of each fin, including the caudal fin, are black or dark brown. If you see a shark with black patterns on the dorsal fin and tail fin in the aquarium, it is undoubtedly a blacktip reef shark.

The blacktip reef shark is viviparous, giving birth to pups between two and ten a litter. If there are no available males, the females can even reproduce asexually. Scientists believe the gestation period varies between 10 and 16 months, dependent on the temperature of the water. The blacktip reef shark's lifespan is around 13-15 years.

Average Size of Blacktip Reef Shark

Newborn blacktip reef sharks reach a length of 30-50 cm. The average length of a full-growth blacktip reef shark is around 1.6 meters long. Occasionally, they can get as long as 1.8 meters or even two meters. The male blacktip reef sharks are about 90-100 cm long, while the females are 95-120 cm long, up to 200 cm. And the maximum weight recorded by a blacktip reef shark by the International Game Fish Association is 13.6 kg.

Habitat And Living Habits

The blacktip reef shark mainly lives in tropical and temperate oceans and is also a rare shark that can jump out of the water. The range of blacktip reef sharks exhibits strong location restriction and limited movement and seems closely related to the distribution of coral reef habitats. Blacktip reef sharks are found in the Red Sea, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and western Pacific, common throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. They are relatively timid and curious creatures in the shark family; some will slowly approach divers and waders. However, the attack rate on humans is exceedingly low.

Final Words

Blacktip reef sharks are mainly caught in coastal fisheries in Thailand and India, and humans are keen to eat them for their fins, meat, and liver oil. Blacktip reef sharks are small in size, have low market value, and are not a major target for commercial fishing. However, the low reproductive rate and cub survival rate of blacktip reef sharks, ocean pollution, and recreational fishing have caused the number of blacktip reef sharks to decline worldwide.