Oceanic Whitetip Shark

C. longimanus' most distinguishing characteristics are its long, wing-like pectoral and dorsal fins. The fins are significantly larger than most other shark species, and have conspicuously rounded tips. The shark's snout is rounded and its eyes are circular, with nictitating membranes. The species is grey-bronze dorsally and white ventrally, being countershaded. As its name suggests, most of its fins (dorsal, pectoral, pelvic and caudal) have white tips. Along with white tips, the fins may be mottled, and young specimens can have black marks. A saddle-shaped patch may be apparent between first and second dorsal fins. The shark has two morphs of teeth; those in the mandible (lower jaw) are thinner with a serrated tip, while the teeth in the upper jaw are triangular, but much larger and wider with entirely serrated edges. The lower jaw has between 13 and 15 teeth on either half of the jaw, while the upper has 14 or 15 on each half. The denticles are nearly flat and wide, typically have between five and seven ridges. There is little overlap between them, revealing some bare skin. The oceanic whitetip shark is a robust, large-bodied shark. The largest specimen ever caught measured at more than 4 m (13 ft) in length, though they usually grow up to 3 m (10 ft) in length and 150 kg (330 lb) in weight. …

This shark is found worldwide between 45°N and 43°S latitude. It lives in deep, open oceans, with a temperature greater than 18 °C (64 °F), It prefers water temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F), and up to 28 °C (82 °F) but can also be found in waters as cool as 15 °C (59 °F) but avoids temperatures lower than this. It was once extremely common and widely distributed, and still inhabits a wide band around the globe; however, recent studies suggest that its numbers have drastically declined. The shark spends most of its time in the upper layer of the ocean—to a depth of 150 m (490 ft)—and prefers off-shore, deep-ocean areas. According to longline capture data, increasing distance from land correlates to a greater population of sharks. It is sometimes found close to land, in waters as shallow as only 37 m (120 ft) deep, mainly around oceanic islands and narrow continental shelves.

Mating and birthing seems to occur in early summer in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and southwest Indian Ocean, although females captured in the Pacific have been found with embryos year round, suggesting a longer mating season there. The shark is viviparous—embryos develop in utero and are fed by a placental sac. Its gestation period lasts nine months to one year. In the northwest Atlantic, shark pups are born 65–75 cm (26–30 in) long while off South Africa, birth length is 60–65 cm (24–26 in) long. In the Pacific Ocean, newborns average 45–55 cm (18–22 in) long, and number two to fourteen per litter. In one population off Brazil, sharks were recorded to grow an average of 25.2 cm (9.9 in) in one year, reducing to 13.6 cm (5.4 in) per year up to four years and then 9.7 cm (3.8 in) in their fifth year. Both sexes reached maturity at 180–190 cm (71–75 in) between the ages of six and seven and continued to grow at 9.10 cm (3.58 in) per year. The average length of maturity for sharks averages in the greater equatorial and southwestern Atlantic is 170 cm (67 in) for females and 170–190 cm (67–75 in) for males. In the Pacific, sharks appear to mature at four to five years. One oceanic whitetip shark was estimated to have lived 22 years.