Shark ID - Spinners and Blacktips

[Blacktip Hunter]

I know many people think blacktips are spinners and 99% of the time they are blacktips. Spinner sharks are much rarer to catch than blacktips. The first photo is a spinner shark and the second is a blacktip. Take some time and notice the difference between the two.

PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY AT THESE PHOTOS:

Spinner Shark:
- black spot on anal fin
- dorsal fin behind pectoral fins
- smaller dorsal fin



Blacktip Shark:
- white anal fin
- the dorsal fin is closer to the pectoral fins
- larger dorsal fin

[salvadorsanchez]

Thanks BT!!!!!!!!!! Black tips dont have much of....a black tip it seems!

Jay

[cudaman]

Thanks BT!!!!!!!!!! Black tips dont have much of....a black tip it seems!

Jay

That's because the shark on the bottom could be a fine tooth shark, which is very often confused with a blacktip and a spinner shark. Only way to know is to see the teeth.

The blacktip marks under the fins are the ones that are clearly visible on most blacktips and fine tooth sharks.

Here is the info from the Florida Museum of Natural History website:

Blacktip sharks:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/d ... shark.html

The black tips found on the pectoral fins, first and second dorsals, pelvic fins, and lower caudal lobe are very apparent, though they tend to fade with age. The blacktip does not usually have black tips on its anal fin. The similar-looking spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) does usually develop a black tip on its anal fin several months after birth.

Fine Tooth shark:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/D ... shark.html

The blacktip shark (C. limbatus) and spinner shark (C. brevipinna) are often confused with the finetooth shark
© George Burgess

Just adding $0.02