Carcharhinus perezii
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The Caribbean reef shark (''Carcharhinus perezi'') is a species of
requiem shark Requiem sharks are sharks of the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. They are migratory, live-bearing sharks of warm seas (sometimes of brackish or fresh water) and include such species as the tiger shark, bull shark, le ...
, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encountered reef shark in the Caribbean Sea. With a robust, streamlined body typical of the requiem sharks, this species is difficult to tell apart from other large members of its family such as the dusky shark (''C. obscurus'') and the
silky shark The silky shark (''Carcharhinus falciformis''), also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, gray whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the f ...
(''C. falciformis''). Distinguishing characteristics include dusky-colored fins without prominent markings, a short free rear tip on the second dorsal fin, and tooth shape and number. Measuring up to long, the Caribbean reef shark is one of the largest apex predators in the reef ecosystem, feeding on a variety of fishes and
cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...
s. They have been documented resting motionless on the sea bottom or inside caves, unusual behavior for an active-swimming shark. If threatened, it may perform a threat display in which it frequently changes direction and dips its pectoral fins. Like other requiem sharks, it is viviparous with females giving birth to 4–6 young every other year. Caribbean reef sharks are of some importance to
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
as a source of meat, leather, liver oil, and fishmeal, but recently they have become more valuable as an ecotourist attraction. In the Bahamas and elsewhere, bait is used to attract them to groups of divers in controversial "shark feedings". This species is responsible for a small number of attacks on humans. The shark attacks usually happen in spring and summer.


Taxonomy and phylogeny

The Caribbean reef shark was originally described as ''Platypodon perezi'' by Felipe Poey in 1876, in the
scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...
''Anales de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural''. The type specimens were six individuals caught off the coast of Cuba. The genus ''Platypodon'' was synonymized with ''Carcharhinus'' by later authors. Based on morphological similarities,
Jack Garrick John Andrew Frank "Jack" Garrick (1928 – August 30, 2018) was a New Zealand ichthyologist. He specialized in elasmobranchs and published many books and articles about shark and ray biology. In 1982, he published a thorough taxonomy on sharks of ...
in 1982 grouped this species with the
bignose shark The bignose shark (''Carcharhinus altimus'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. Is Distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters, this migratory shark frequents deep waters around the edges of the continental ...
(''C. altimus'') and the sandbar shark (''C. plumbeus''), while Leonard Compagno in 1988 placed it as the sister species of the grey reef shark (''C. amblyrhynchos''). A phylogenetic analysis based on
allozyme Alloenzymes (or also called allozymes) are variant forms of an enzyme which differ structurally but not functionally from other allozymes coded for by different alleles at the same locus. These are opposed to isozymes, which are enzymes that perfo ...
data, published by Gavin Naylor in 1992, indicated that the Caribbean reef shark is the sister taxon to a
clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
formed by the
Galapagos shark The Galapagos shark (''Carcharhinus galapagensis'') is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. It favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species. A larg ...
(''C. galapagensis''), dusky shark (''C. obscurus''),
oceanic whitetip shark The oceanic whitetip shark (''Carcharhinus longimanus''), also known as shipwreck shark, Brown Milbert's sand bar shark, brown shark, lesser white shark, nigano shark, oceanic white-tipped whaler, and silvertip shark, is a large pelagic requiem ...
(''C. longimanus''), and the
blue shark The blue shark (''Prionace glauca''), also known as the great blue shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, which inhabits deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. Averaging around and preferring co ...
(''Prionace glauca''). However, more work is required to fully resolve the interrelationships within ''Carcharhinus''.


Distribution and habitat

The Caribbean reef shark occurs throughout the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina in the north to Brazil in the south, including Bermuda, the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. However, it is extremely rare north of the
Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
. It prefers shallow waters on or around coral reefs, and is commonly found near the drop-offs at the reefs' outer edges.Scharfer, A
Biological Profiles: Caribbean Reef Shark
. ''Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department''. Retrieved on February 14, 2009.
This shark is most common in water shallower than , but has been known to dive to .


Description

A heavy-bodied shark with a "typical" streamlined shape, the Caribbean reef shark is difficult to distinguish from other large requiem shark species. It usually measures long; the maximum recorded length is and the maximum reported weight is . The coloration is dark gray or gray-brown above and white or white-yellow below, with an inconspicuous white band on the flanks. The fins are not prominently marked, and the undersides of the paired fins, the
anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
, and the lower lobe of the caudal fin are dusky. The snout is rather short, broad, and rounded, without prominent flaps of skin beside the nostrils. The eyes are large and circular, with
nictitating membrane The nictitating membrane (from Latin '' nictare'', to blink) is a transparent or translucent third eyelid present in some animals that can be drawn across the eye from the medial canthus to protect and moisten it while maintaining vision. All ...
s (protective third eyelids). There are 11–13 tooth rows in either half of both jaws. The teeth have broad bases, serrated edges, and narrow cusps; the front 2–4 teeth on each side are erect and the others increasingly oblique. The five pairs of gill slits are moderately long, with the third gill slit over the origin of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is high and falcate (sickle-shaped). There is a low interdorsal ridge running behind it to the second dorsal fin, which is relatively large with a short free rear tip. The origin of the first dorsal fin lies over or slightly forward of the free rear tips of the pectoral fins, and that of the second dorsal fin lies over or slightly forward of the
anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
. The pectoral fins are long and narrow, tapering to a point. The
dermal denticle A fish scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of the skin of a fish. The skin of most jawed fishes is covered with these protective scales, which can also provide effective camouflage through the use of reflection and colouration, as we ...
s are closely spaced and overlapping, each with five (sometimes seven in large individuals) horizontal low ridges leading to marginal teeth. Carcharhinus perezii jaws.jpg, Jaws Carcharhinus perezii upper teeth.jpg, Upper teeth Carcharhinus perezii lower teeth.jpg, Lower teeth


Biology and ecology

Despite its abundance in certain areas, the Caribbean reef shark is one of the least-studied large requiem sharks. They are believed to play a major role in shaping Caribbean reef communities. These sharks are more active at night, with no evidence of seasonal changes in activity or migration. Juveniles tend to remain in a localized area throughout the year, while adults range over a wider area. Caribbean reef sharks are sometimes seen resting motionless on the sea floor or inside caves; it is the first active shark species in which such a behavior was reported. In 1975, Eugenie Clark investigated the famed "sleeping sharks" inside the caves at Isla Mujeres off the Yucatan Peninsula, and determined that the sharks were not actually asleep as their eyes would follow divers. Clark speculated that freshwater upwellings inside the caves might loosen parasites on the sharks and produce an enjoyable "narcotic" effect.Martin, R.A
Caribbean Reef Shark
''ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research''. Retrieved on February 14, 2009.
If threatened, Caribbean reef sharks sometimes perform a threat display, in which they swim in a short, jerky fashion with frequent changes in direction and repeated, brief (1–1.2 second duration) drops of the pectoral fins. This display is less pronounced than the better-known display of the grey reef shark (''C. amblyrhynchos''). Juvenile Caribbean reef sharks are preyed upon by larger sharks such as the tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') and the bull shark (''C. leucas''). Few parasites are known for this species; one is a dark variegated
leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
often seen trailing from its first dorsal fin. Off northern Brazil, juveniles seek out cleaning stations occupied by yellownose gobies (''Elacatinus randalli''), which clean the sharks of parasites while they lie still on the bottom. Horse-eye jacks (''Caranx latus'') and
bar jack The bar jack (''Caranx ruber''), also known as the carbonero, red jack, blue-striped cavalla or passing jack, is a common species of inshore marine (ocean), marine fish classified in the jack Family (biology), family, Carangidae. The bar jack is ...
s (''Carangoides ruber'') routinely school around Caribbean reef sharks.


Feeding

The Caribbean reef shark feeds on a wide variety of reef-dwelling
bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...
es and cephalopods, as well as some elasmobranchs such as eagle rays (''Aetobatus narinari'') and
yellow stingray The yellow stingray (''Urobatis jamaicensis'') is a species of stingray in the family Urotrygonidae, found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Trinidad. This bottom-dwelling species inhabits sandy, muddy, or seagrass b ...
s (''Urobatis jamaicensis''). It is attracted to low-frequency sounds, which are indicative of struggling fish. In one observation of a long male Caribbean reef shark hunting a
yellowtail snapper The yellowtail snapper (''Ocyurus chrysurus'') is an abundant species of snapper native to the western Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Although they have been found as far north as Massachusetts, their normal r ...
(''Lutjanus crysurus''), the shark languidly circled and made several seemingly "half-hearted" turns towards its prey, before suddenly accelerating and swinging its head sideways to capture the snapper at the corner of its jaws. Young sharks feed on small fishes, shrimps, and crabs. Caribbean reef sharks are capable of everting their stomachs, which likely serves to cleanse indigestible particles, parasites, and mucus from the stomach lining.


Life history

Reproduction is viviparous; once the developing
embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
s exhaust their supply of yolk, the yolk sac develops into a placental connection through which they receive nourishment from their mother. Mating is apparently an aggressive affair, as females are often found with biting scars and wounds on their sides. At the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Atol das Rocas off Brazil, parturition takes place at the end of the dry season from February to April, while at other locations in the Southern Hemisphere, females give birth during the Amazon summer in November and December. The average litter size is four to six, with a
gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...
of one year. Females become pregnant every other year. The newborns measure no more than long; males
mature sexually Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definiti ...
at long and females at .


Human interactions

Normally shy or indifferent to the presence of divers, the Caribbean reef shark has been known to become aggressive in the presence of food and grows sufficiently large to be considered potentially dangerous. As of 2008, the International Shark Attack File lists 27 attacks attributable to this species, 4 of them unprovoked, and none fatal, though a fatal attack on the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten in 2020 is being blamed on the species. This species is taken by commercial and artisanal
longline Long line or longline may refer to: *''Long Line'', an album by Peter Wolf *Long line (topology), or Alexandroff line, a topological space *Long line (telecommunications), a transmission line in a long-distance communications network *Longline fish ...
and
gillnet Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...
fisheries throughout its range. It is valued for meat, leather, liver oil and fishmeal. The Caribbean reef shark is the most common shark landed in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
(accounting for 39% of the longline catch by occurrence), where it is utilized for its fins, oil and jaws (sold for ornamental purposes). In Belize, this species is mainly caught as
bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juve ...
on hook-and-line intended for groupers and snappers; the fins are sold to the lucrative Asian market and the meat sold in Belize, Mexico, and
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
to make "panades", a tortilla-like confection. A dedicated shark fishery operated in Belize from the mid-1900s to the early 1990s, until catches of all species saw dramatic declines. The flesh of this species may contain high levels of
methylmercury Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
and other heavy metals.


Shark feeding

A profitable ecotourism industry has arisen around this species involving organized "shark feeds", in which groups of reef sharks are attracted to divers using bait. Some US$6,000,000 is spent annually on shark viewing in the Bahamas, where at some sites a single living Caribbean reef shark has a value between US$13,000 and US$40,000 (compared to a one-time value of US$50–60 for a dead shark). This practice has drawn controversy, as opponents argue that the sharks may learn to associate humans with food, increasing the chances of a shark attack, and that the removal of reef fishes for bait may damage the local ecosystem. Conversely, proponents maintain that shark feeds contribute to conservation by incentivizing the protection of sharks and educating people about them. Thus far, there has been little evidence that shark feeds have increased the risk of attack in the surrounding area.Murch, A
Shark Feeding
''Elasmodiver.com''. Retrieved on February 14, 2009
Shark feeding has been outlawed off the coast of Florida, but continues at other locations in the Caribbean.


Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the Caribbean reef shark as Endangered; its population has declined off Belize and Cuba from
overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
and exploitation continues in other regions. They are also threatened by the degradation and destruction of their coral reef habitat. Commercial fishing for this species is prohibited in United States waters. They are protected in the Bahamas due to their significance to ecotourism, as well as in a number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) off Brazil and elsewhere. However, enforcement against
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
is lacking in some of these reserves, and many areas in which this species is abundant are not protected.


References


External links

* * Video o
Caribbean Reef Shark
- Video taken in Belize off Ambergris Caye. {{Good article
Caribbean reef shark The Caribbean reef shark (''Carcharhinus perezi'') is a species of requiem shark, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encounter ...
Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of Brazil
Caribbean reef shark The Caribbean reef shark (''Carcharhinus perezi'') is a species of requiem shark, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encounter ...
Fish of Cuba