Slender reef shark with strongly black‑tipped first dorsal, caudal, pelvic and pectoral fins. Dorsum light grey‑brown; ventrum white; faint dusky band rises diagonally from belly toward first dorsal base. Snout long and pointed; eyes large, round with nictitating membrane. First dorsal originates above or slightly behind pectoral rear tips and has a white leading‑edge band prior to broad black apex. Second dorsal and caudal lower lobe each bear smaller black tips. Adults typically 1.3 – 1.6 m total length (TL), maximum verified 1.9 m; mass 20 – 30 kg. Juveniles (< 70 cm) show proportionally wider dark band across body. Sexes similar; females marginally larger, males possess claspers.
Slender reef shark with strongly black‑tipped first dorsal, caudal, pelvic and pectoral fins. Dorsum light grey‑brown; ventrum white; faint dusky band rises diagonally from belly toward first dorsal base. Snout long and pointed; eyes large, round with nictitating membrane. First dorsal originates above or slightly behind pectoral rear tips and has a white leading‑edge band prior to broad black apex. Second dorsal and caudal lower lobe each bear smaller black tips. Adults typically 1.3 – 1.6 m total length (TL), maximum verified 1.9 m; mass 20 – 30 kg. Juveniles (< 70 cm) show proportionally wider dark band across body. Sexes similar; females marginally larger, males possess claspers.
Clear, warm fringing reefs, lagoon flats and seagrass‑sand mosaics from surface to 40 m; in Costa Rica recorded at Bahía Culebra, Golfo Papagayo, Isla del Caño back‑reef and rare Caribbean estuary mouths (Cahuita).
Diurnal/crepuscular mesopredator feeding on wrasses, mullet, juvenile parrotfish, cephalopods and crustaceans; juveniles consume shrimp and gobies.
A. Social Structure & Behaviour
Activity pattern: crepuscular peaks; rests on sandy patches midday.
Group size: small loose groups (3–8) on lagoon flats; solitary hunting at dusk.
Movements: tidal excursions into mangroves; strong attachment to core reef.
Communication: threat display involves hunching back, pectoral lowering; juveniles use body contact in crèches.
Special behaviours: “head‑shake” prey handling to stun mullet; uses lateral head thrash to flush sand‑buried gobies.
Exhibits site fidelity to home reef < 1 km² for months, tracked by acoustic tags.
Often “spy‑hops,” lifting head above water to investigate splashes in knee‑deep flats.
Neonates form loose crèches of 5–15 individuals in ankle‑deep sand shallows at high tide.
Skin denticles so fine they scatter polarized light, reducing glare for stealth predation.
Recorded leaping fully clear of water when startled by snorkelers at Isla del Caño.
Native
Decreasing
Robust requiem shark with fusiform body and high, slightly rounded first dorsal fin whose origin lies over (or just anterior to) the free rear tip of the pectorals. Snout long, broad and rounded; eyes circular with nictitating membrane. Dorsum uniform grey‑brown, ventrum white; no prominent flank markings.
