Blacktip Reef Shark — printable fact sheet
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Blacktip Reef Shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
The blacktip reef shark is the shark most people have actually seen: a small, slender 1.6 m animal that patrols reef flats so shallow that its dorsal fin cuts clear of the water. It is startlingly parochial. Individuals have home ranges that can be under a square kilometre and t…
Did you know?
- Despite their intimidating appearance, there are no confirmed fatal attacks on humans by Blacktip Reef Sharks.
- Long-term photo-ID work in Moorea found blacktips form stable, non-random social associations — the same individuals repeatedly choose to be together over years, which is as close to friendship as sharks are known to get. They can be identified individually by the notches and markings on their fins. They will drive schools of fish into the shallows and thrash through them, sometimes stranding themselves briefly on the sand.
What I learned
Draw the blacktip reef shark
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