Triaenodon obesus

(Rüppell, 1837)

Vernacular names
English : Whitetip reef shark
French : Requin-corail à pointes blanches

Classification
Class : Elasmobranchii
Order : Carcharhiniformes
Family : Carcharhinidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Small slender shark reaching 1,60 m in length, very rarely 2 meters, for a weight of 18 kg. Snout short and broad. Small fins except from upper tail fin lobe. Coloration grey above with black spots on flanks. White tips to dorsal and tail fins.

Range and habitat
This species occurs in the Indo-Pacific area, from Red Sea and East Africa to Panama and Galapagos, north to south Japan, south to North Australia. Lives in lagoons and seaward reefs with caves and ledges, down to 330 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is declining in most of its very large range because of habitat loss locally and globally because of overfishing and bycatch.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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