Silvertip Shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus)

All images and text on this page are copyright protected: © 2002 Kelvin Aitken. All rights
reserved. Students may use this information for personal research only. Not for commercial use.
The streamlined Silvertip Shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) is one of the most beautiful of all sharks. Silvertips are
similar in appearance to Grey Reef Sharks, having a clean tapered body and typical shark contours, but their pectoral fins
have bright silver tips as does the trailing edge of the tail. The Grey Reef Shark has dark pectoral tips and rear tail edge.
The Silvertip is grey with a bronzy sheen becoming lighter as it blends into a pure white belly. The tips of the dorsal fins
are always white; confusingly this is sometimes the case with the Grey Reef Shark, too.
Silvertips can become frisky when baited but, like all sharks, they prefer to keep some distance from swimmers. Females
carry up to 11 young for 12 months before giving birth during the summer. The perfectly formed 55-80 cm pups grow to an adult
size of 2 m, living on a diet of tropical fish which they hunt among the reefs.
|