FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1348 Sharks
Carcharhinus tilstoni (Whitley, 1950
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Carcharhinus limbatus (Valenciennes in Müller and
Henle, 1839); C. brevipinna (Müller and Henel, 1839); C. amblyrhinchoides (Whitley, 1934).
FAO names: En - Australian blacktip shark.
Diagnostic characters: Body fusiform, moderately
slender. Snout long, about equal to, or slightly less than
mouth width, greater than distance between nostrils, its
tip narrowly rounded to pointed; labial furrows short;
spiracles absent; upper and lower teeth nearly
symmetrical and similar, with erect, narrow cusps
and serrated edges; gill slits moderately long. First
dorsal fin with a pointed or very narrowly rounded
apex, its origin above, or slightly posterior to
insertion of pectoral fins; second dorsal fin high, its
inner margin less than twice the height of fin, and its
origin over or slightly in front of that of anal fin; pectoral
(after Last and Stevens, 1994)
ventral view
of head
5 th tooth from symphysis
(upper jaw)
fins falcate. No interdorsal ridge. Colour: back dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze; belly white or
yellowish white; a dark band extending rearward along each side to about over origin of pelvic fin;
tips of pelvic fins with a persistent black spot.
Size: Maximum total length about 2 m; size at birth about 60 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: On the continental shelf from close inshore to depths of about 150 m,
mainly in midwater or near the surface. Feeds on teleost fishes, also on cephalopods. Until recently, the
species was caught with gill nets and longlines for its meat by Taiwanese fisheries in northern Australia. It
currently forms the basis of a small Australian gill net fishery (up to 500 t annually).
Distribution: So far only known
from northern Australia.
Remarks: This species has
only recently been separated
from Carcharhinus limbatus.
At present, these 2 species
can be reliably distinguished
only on vertebral counts and
enzyme systems.
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