page_title: Silky shark
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Silky shark / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis)
context_page_description: The Silky shark is a type of shark of the genus Carcharhinus, family Carcharhinidae. They are mainly found in warm bodies of water in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The Silky shark is large, slim, and grows up to a maximum length of 3.3 metres. The Silky shark gets its name from the fact that it has a smooth, "silky" texture.
  The Silky shark feeds on bony fish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines, and mullets, and molluscs such as squid and paper nautilus. They have also been known to feed on the bodies of dead whales.
  The Silky shark is classified as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN.
context_section_description: A large, slim shark, the Silky shark has a fairly stretched , rounded snout, a relatively slanting first dorsal fin with a blunt top that is located behind the edges of the pectoral fins, a small second dorsal fin with an extremely long free rear tip (more than two times the height), and a low inter-dorsal ridge (ridge between the dorsal fins). The pectoral fins are long and slim, and have dusky coloured tips.
  Silky sharks are normally dark grey with a shade of bronze, but are sometimes a golden-brown colour. Their undersides are white. Except for the first dorsal fin, the tips of all the fins are a dusky colour; this is more visible among the young. 
  The upper teeth are widely triangular and slanted, becoming more diagonal toward the angle of the jaws which are strongly cut and heavily jagged on the sides. The lower teeth are raised with smooth edges. There is usually 1 to 2 symphysial teeth on both, the lower and upper jaw.
  The dermal denticles are small, tightly packed and over-lapping, giving the hide a smooth or "silky" texture, giving the shark it's name.
  The maximum length for this species is 3.3 metres (10 feet). Males mature at the lengths of 2.2-2.3 metres (9-10 years of age) and grow to a lesser size than females, which reach maturity at the lengths 2.3-2.5 metres (12 years of age), however, these numbers are different among the different populations of this species.  Silky sharks weigh around 350 kilograms (770 pounds).
caption: The Silky shark has a short first dorsal fin, and long pectoral fins
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