The Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is a tropical shark species that belongs to the ‘Requiem/Whaler’ shark family Carcharhinidae. It has a broad distribution throughout the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific region and is known to occur from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands and the Tuamoto Archipelago. It is also found in the eastern Mediterranean (through the Suez Canal).
Carcharhinus melanopterus is a small shark species with a short bluntly rounded snout and is easily identified by all fins having with black or dark brown tips. There is also anterior and posterior dark edging on pectoral fins and upper lobe of caudal fin. It is grey coloured above whilst the underbody is white. It can be found in amongst inshore coral reefs and lagoons and is often found in small groups. It is known to predominantly feed on other fishes however it will eat crustaceans, cephalopods and molluscs. It is not considered to be an aggressive species however it has been known to bite people wading in the shallows and it may hassle spearfishers to get their catch. This shark is also very popular with public aquariums as it survives well in captivity.
The Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is known to grow to a maximum length of approximately 2 metres.
