Oceanic Whitetip Shark

The oceanic whitetip is a large and well-known shark in the requiem shark family.

Size, Weight, and Description
Most oceanic whitetips are less than 10 feet long, although the largest recorded was around 13 ft. They tend to weigh from 100-200 lbs. Still, the heaviest whitetip on record was over 300 lbs.

They are easily identifiable by their white-tipped fins. Their stomachs are also white. They are a brown or grey color on the rest of their bodies. The fins of this shark are larger than those of most sharks, at least in comparison to their body size. Sadly, this is not always a good thing for them, even though the large fins help to push them through the water with power. The large fins are valued by those who make shark fin soup and the populations of oceanic whitetips has dropped to a dangerously low level in recent years because of excessive finning.

Habitat and Range
The oceanic whitetip inhabits temperate and tropical waters worldwide. They are pelagic, which means they live in deep, open waters. The life of a pelagic shark can be tough, since they are always on the move trying to find schools of fish in the vast ocean.

Prey
These sharks mainly eat fish, along with the occasional sea turtle, bird, or pelagic ray. The kinds of fish they eat can be pretty big ones, including oarfish, tuna, and marlin!