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Carcharhinus perezi

(Caribbean reef shark)

Overview

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Near Threatened

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Czech:

Žralok karibský útesový, Žralok karibský útesový

Common Names in Danish:

Caribisk revhaj

Common Names in Dutch:

Caribische rifhaai

Common Names in English:

Caribbean reef shark, reef shark, Shark

Common Names in French:

Requin de récif

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

加勒比真鯊, 加勒比真鲨

Common Names in Portuguese:

Ca, Cação-coralino

Common Names in Spanish:

Cabeza dura, Cazón, Cazón de arrecife, Tibur?n Coralino, Tibur?n Piedrero, tiburón coralino, Tiburón, Tiburón coralino, Tiburón tollo, Tollo

Description

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Habitat

Biome: Marine [1].

Ecology: The Caribbean reef shark is the most common shark on or near coral reefs in the Caribbean, often found close to drop-offs on the outer edges of the reefs. It is a tropical inshore , bottom-dwelling species of the continental and insular shelves. While generally reported from depths to at least 30 m (Compagno in prep. b ), in San Andrés Archipelago, Colombia it is reported from depths of 45 to 22 5m (Caldas 2002) and through satellite telemetry is now known to dive to 378 m (E. Pikitch and D. Chapman, pers. comm).

Caribbean reef sharks are caught mostly in forereef and deeper lagoonal areas and rarely in the shallow lagoons in Belizes Glover?s Reef (Pikitch et al. submitted), Lighthouse Reef (Graham et al. in prep) and Cuba?s Jardines de la Reina (Graham and Pina in prep). Although intraspecific variation in reef use exists between juveniles and adults at Glover?s Reef (Pikitch et al. submitted), and between males and females at Jardines de la Reina (Graham and Pina in prep), neonate, juvenile and adult habitat overlap at Belize?s Glover?s Reef Atoll (Pikitch et al. submitted), Gladden Spit (Graham and Burgess 2004) and in Cuba?s Jardines de la Reina Archipelago (Graham and Pina in prep) where all three size classes have been caught in forereef sites. Although adults are rarely found in shallow lagoons and juveniles are found in both lagoons and forereef areas, acoustic taqging supports overall species preference for forereef areas at Glover?s Reef (Chapman et al. submitted). In Jardines de la Reina, preliminary results further suggest sexual segregation between adults along two forereef sites located within
Size at birth is from 60 to 75 cm TL (Castro 1983). Maximum size about 295 cm TL (Compagno 1984). Reproduction is placental viviparous. Difference in the size at maturity exist with 150 to 170 cm TL at Glover?s Reef (Belize) recorded by Pikitch et al. (submitted) and 170 cm TL (males) and ~200 cm TL (females) noted by Compagno (in prep b). Litter size is 3 to 6 pups and gestation period is ~1 year (Compagno in prep. b). Reproductive periodicity is biennial (Castro et al. 1999). Sex ratios from 102 sharks captured at Glover?s Reef Atoll were even from May to July (2000?2004).

Diet appears to include a wide range of reef fishes and some elasmobranchs. Stomach contents analysis in several sites reveals consumption of bony fishes (scarids, carangids and serranids) and elasmobranchs such as Aetobatus narinari and Urobatis jamaicensis (D. Chapman pers. comm. ). In Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil, specimens of the teleosts Caranx latus, Sparisoma spp. and Cephalopholis fulva were observed in stomach contents (R. Garla pers. comm). In Manoel Luis reefs, remains of Scaridae and cephalopods were found in stomach contents (Motta et al. 1999).

Movement is more extensive than previously thought on both the horizontal and vertical planes . Using acoustic telemetry, Chapman et al. (submitted) determined that one animal traveled 30 km over deep (>400 m) waters from Glover?s Reef Atoll to neighboring Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Within 30 hours the same individual returned to a site at Glover?s at least 50 km from the Lighthouse receiver site. On the other hand, 14 sharks fitted with acoustic transmitters in Fernando de Noronha archipelago (Brazil) showed little movement and high site fidelity, half of them remaining within areas of 0.7 km² and the other half traveling less than 3.3 km, mainly during the night (Garla et al. submitted for publication ).[1].

List of Habitats :

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Carcharhinus perezi • Carcharhinus perezii • Carcharhinus perezii (Poey, 1876) • Carcharhinus springeri • Platypodon perezii • Platypodon perezii Poey, 1876

Notes

Often misspelled as C. perezii. Carcharhinus springeri Sadowsky & Amorim 1977 is considered a synonym (Soto 2001). (Ref. 260859).

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Carcharhinus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 36 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. acronotus (Blacknose Shark) · C. ahenea (Shortnose Blacktail Shark) · C. albimarginatus (Silvertip Shark) · C. altimus (Knopp´s Shark) · C. amblyrhynchoides (Graceful Shark) · C. amblyrhynchos (Shortnose Blacktail Shark) · C. amboinensis (Ambon Sharpnose Puffer) · C. azureus (Large Blacktip Shark) · C. borneensis (Borneo Mullet) · C. brachyurus (Black-Tipped Whaler) · C. brevipinna (Blacktipped Shark) · C. cautus (Sharks Bay Whaler Shark) · C. dussumieri (Whitecheek Shark) · C. falciformis (Sickle-Shaped Shark) · C. fitzroyensis (Creek Whaler Shark) · C. galapagensis (Galapagos Shark) · C. hemiodon (Pondicherry Shark) · C. isodon (Fintooth Shark) · C. leiodon (Smoothtooth Blacktip Shark) · C. leucas (Bull Shark) · C. limbatus (Blacktip Shark) · C. longimanus (Brown Milbert's Sand Bar Shark) · C. macloti (Hardnose Shark) · C. melanopterus (Black Fin Reef Shark) · C. obscurus (Dusky Shark) · C. perezi (Caribbean Reef Shark) · C. perezii (Caribbean Reef Shark) · C. plumbeus (Northern Whaler Shark) · C. porosus (Tiburon Peninsula Limia) · C. sealei (Black-Spot Shark) · C. signatus (Night Shark) · C. sorrah (West Australian Whaler Shark) · C. springeri (Reef Shark) · C. tilstoni (Australian Blacktip Shark) · C. velox (Whitenose Shark) · C. wheeleri (Blacktail Reef Shark)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Rosa, R.S., Mancini, P., Caldas, J.P. & Graham, R.T. 2006. Carcharhinus perezi. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 January 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-07-28