Silvertip Shark

Carcharhinus albimarginatus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Species: Carcharhinus albimarginatus

The silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) is a large, bronze-grey requiem shark easily identified by the crisp white tips and trailing edges on its dorsal, pectoral and tail fins. It grows to around 2.5 to 3 m.

Silvertips patrol outer reef drop-offs, offshore banks and seamounts, usually from mid-water down to considerable depth. They feed on reef and pelagic fish and can be bold and inquisitive, often dominating smaller sharks such as the grey reef shark. The species is listed as Vulnerable.

In the Philippines silvertip sharks are most likely to be seen at remote offshore reefs such as Tubbataha and other deep walls in the Sulu Sea. Encounters are usually on deeper dives along steep drop-offs.

Photo: Ewout Knoester, CC BY-SA 4.0, via iNaturalist