Reef Shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
A shallow-water shark with ink-dipped fin tips.
Reef Sharks patrol warm lagoons and reef edges, often in water barely deeper than their bodies. Their bold black fin tips make them one of the easiest sharks to recognize.
Find this SeaPal in the card gallery
From field guide to game table
Bring this Reef Shark home
See which ready-to-play decks feature this SeaPal. Try one in the simulator before you buy, or explore each full deck list.
- 2 copies
Ready-to-play deck
Murky Water Deck
Includes 2 cards featuring Reef Shark.
Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- Shallow Indo-Pacific coral reefs, lagoons, and sandy reef flats.
- Favorite foods
- Mostly reef fishes, plus squid, octopuses, shrimp, and crabs.
- Size check
- Up to about 6 ft (1.8 m) — adult-human length
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
The first dorsal fin has a black tip with a pale band beneath it.
- 2
Young sharks use very shallow lagoons as nurseries.
- 3
Females give birth to live pups rather than laying eggs.
- 4
Many individuals repeatedly patrol the same small home area.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
Quick turns and bursts of speed make it a brilliant shallow-reef hunter.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Check the dorsal and tail fins for sharply painted black tips.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.