silvertip shark
carcharhinus albimarginatus latin

Within moments, a massive silvertip shark came out from the blue displaying classic hunting behaviour.

Individual silvertip sharks behave very aggressively towards one another, and many are heavily scarred.

Though silvertip sharks are quite mobile, they exhibit fidelity to certain areas and there are reports of territorial behavior.

Inquisitive and bold, especially in the presence of food, the silvertip shark is regarded as potentially dangerous to humans.

Grey reef sharks are prey for larger sharks, such as the silvertip shark.

Silvertip sharks are regarded as potentially dangerous to humans, as they often approach divers quite closely.

As with other members of its family, the silvertip shark is viviparous, with females giving birth to one to 11 pups in the summer.

The silvertip shark is widely but not continuously distributed in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The silvertip shark is a robust and streamlined species with a moderately long, broad snout and large, round eyes.

Like the grey reef shark, silvertip sharks sometimes perform a stereotypical threat display if pursued by divers, warning that it is prepared to attack.

Carcharhinus albimarginatus (Silvertip shark)

Rainbow runners (Elagatis bipinnulata) have been observed rubbing against silvertip sharks, using the sharks' rough skin to scrape off parasites.

Silvertip sharks have been observed swimming around the periphery of groups of feeding sharks of other species, occasionally dashing in to steal food.

The silvertip shark resembles a larger, bulkier grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos), and can be easily identified by the prominent white margins on its fins.

An aggressive, powerful apex predator, the silvertip shark feeds on a wide variety of bony fishes, as well as eagle rays, smaller sharks, and cephalopods.

Based on similarities in morphology, tooth shape, and vertebral characters, Garrick (1982) proposed the grey reef shark as the closest relative of the silvertip shark.

The silvertip shark is caught by commercial and artisan fisheries across its range using longlines, gillnets, and trawls, both intentionally and as bycatch.

The diet of the silvertip shark consists primarily of bony fishes, such as grouper, mackerel, tuna, escolars, lanternfish, flyingfish, wrasses, and soles.

Based on morphological characters, vertebral counts, and tooth shapes, Garrick (1982) concluded the grey reef shark is most closely related to the silvertip shark (C. albimarginatus).

During group interactions, Galapagos sharks are dominant to blacktip sharks (C. limbatus) but deferent to silvertip sharks (C. albimarginatus) of equal size.

The silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) is a large species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, with a fragmented distribution throughout the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Often, several silvertip sharks will rush up from deep water to inspect divers when they first enter the water, which can be an intimidating experience, as the sharks may approach quite close.

As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the silvertip shark as Near Threatened, and noted it may be approaching the criteria for Vulnerable.

Blacktip sharks have a timid disposition and consistently lose out to Galapagos sharks (C. galapagensis) and silvertip sharks (C. albimarginatus) of equal size when competing for food.

In one experiment involving bait, a large silvertip shark tore the leg off a dummy dressed in SCUBA gear, demonstrating that this species is capable of inflicting lethal injuries.

The name was later changed to the currently valid Carcharhinus albimarginatus.

Carcharhinus albimarginatus (Silvertip shark)

The silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) is a large species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, with a fragmented distribution throughout the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.