FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Carcharhinidae 1343
Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Hypoprion playfairi (Günther, 1870) / None.
FAO names: En - Blacktip reef shark; Fr - Requin pointes noires; Sp - Tiburón de puntas negras.
Diagnostic characters: A small to medium-sized
shark. Body moderately stout. Snout very short and
broadly rounded, its length less than mouth
width and about equal to distance between
nostrils; labial furrows very short; anterior nasal
flaps with a stout, broad lobe; spiracles absent; teeth
with serrated edges, those in upper jaw with
narrow semioblique to oblique cusps and low
basal cusplets; teeth in lower jaw with erect or
semierect narrow cusps and serrated edges. First
dorsal fin moderately large, with a narrowly rounded
or pointed apex, its origin over inner margins of
ventral view
of head
upper and lower
tooth near centre
pectoral fins, its free rear tip short; second dorsal fin high, its inner margin much less than twice the fin
height, its origin over or slightly anterior to anal-fin origin; pectoral fins moderately long, with narrowly
rounded or pointed tips; rear tip of anal fin ending well in front of lower caudal-fin origin. No dermal ridge
between dorsal fins. Colour: yellow-brown on dorsal surface, underside white; all fins conspicuous
with black or dark brown tips also anterior and posterior dark edging on pectoral fins and upper lobe of
caudal fin; a prominent black tip of first dorsal fin set off abruptly by a light band below it; a
conspicuous dark band on flanks, extending rearward to pelvic fins.
Size: Maximum total length about 2 m; commonly to 1.6 m; size at birth between 33 to 50 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A common inshore and sometimes offshore shark, on continental and insular
shelves; prefers shallow water on and around coral reefs. May occur in brackish and even fresh water, but does
not occur in tropical lakes and rivers far from the sea.Viviparous, number of young 2 to 4 (commonly 4).A bottom
and midwater feeding shark that feeds on small bony fishes (including mullets), octopuses and small sharks. It
has been definitely recorded as having attacked humans without provocation, but it should not be regarded as
particularly dangerous because of its small size. May be aggressive when divers are spearfishing. Apparently
regulary caught in fisheries where it occurs, including off of Thailand. The meat is used fresh and dried salted
for human consumption, and for
its liver oil.
Distribution: Wide-ranging
from South Africa, the Red Sea,
Pakistan, India eastward to the
western Central Pacific; also in
the eastern Mediterranean
Sea as an invader from the
Red Sea through the Suez
Canal.