page_title: Blacktip reef shark
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Blacktip reef shark / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in the Solomon Islands
context_page_description: The blacktip reef shark is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins. Among the most abundant sharks inhabiting the tropical coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, this species prefers shallow, inshore waters. Its exposed first dorsal fin is a common sight in the region. The blacktip reef shark is usually found over reef ledges and sandy flats, though it has also been known to enter brackish and freshwater environments. It typically attains a length of 1.6 m.
  The blacktip reef shark has extremely small home ranges and exhibits strong site fidelity, remaining within the same local area for up to several years at a time. It is an active predator of small bony fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans, and has also been known to feed on sea snakes and seabirds. Accounts of the blacktip reef shark's life history have been variable and sometimes contradictory, in part reflecting geographical differences within the species. Like other members of its family, this shark is viviparous, with females giving birth to two to five young on a biennial, annual, or possibly biannual cycle.
context_section_description: French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard originally described the blacktip reef shark during the 1817–1820 exploratory voyage of the corvette Uranie. In 1824, their account was published as part of Voyage autour du monde...sur les corvettes de S.M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne, Louis de Freycinet's 13-volume report on the voyage. The type specimen was a 59 cm (23 in)-long juvenile male caught off the island of Waigeo, west of New Guinea. Quoy and Gaimard chose the name Carcharias melanopterus, from the Greek melas meaning "black" and pteron meaning "fin" or "wing", in reference to this shark's prominent fin markings.
  Subsequent authors moved the blacktip reef shark to the genus Carcharhinus; in 1965 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature designated it as the type species for the genus. In some earlier literature, the scientific name of this shark was mistakenly given as C. spallanzani, now recognized as a synonym of the spottail shark (C. sorrah). Other common names for this species include blackfin reef shark, black-finned shark, blacktip shark, reef blacktip shark, and guliman.
caption: A blacktip reef shark in the Solomon Islands
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