To see photographs of the Silvertip Shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) click here.
Silvertip Shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
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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.