Where does the Blacktip Reef Shark live?
Carcharhinus melanopterus has 227,544 records in 77 countries and territories, from 1820 to 2026. Most records come from Australia.
- 227,544 records
- 77 places
- 93 years recorded
- Elasmobranchii class
AnimaliaChordataElasmobranchiiCarcharhiniformesCarcharhinidaeCarcharhinus
When it is recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
Peak month: December. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.
Records over time
18202026
Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.
Where it is recorded
| Place | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 223,242 | |
| French Polynesia | 1,039 | |
| Maldives | 632 | |
| Indonesia | 426 | |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | 312 | |
| Seychelles | 239 | |
| Thailand | 165 | |
| Malaysia | 160 | |
| Solomon Islands | 117 | |
| Fiji | 113 | |
| Cocos Islands | 89 | |
| Micronesia | 80 | |
| Marshall Islands | 79 | |
| Guam | 77 | |
| New Caledonia | 61 | |
| Philippines | 59 | |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | 58 | |
| American Samoa | 50 | |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 44 | |
| Palau | 41 | |
| Singapore | 39 | |
| United States | 32 | |
| Faroe Islands | 30 | |
| Sri Lanka | 30 | |
| Kenya | 26 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 25 | |
| Papua New Guinea | 24 | |
| Egypt | 23 | |
| Oman | 20 | |
| Kiribati | 17 | |
| Tanzania | 16 | |
| Tuvalu | 14 | |
| Myanmar | 12 | |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | 11 | |
| France | 9 | |
| India | 9 | |
| ZZ | 8 | |
| French Southern Territories | 7 | |
| Taiwan | 7 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 6 |
Showing the top 40 of 77 places.
Related animals
Others in the family Carcharhinidae.
Grey Shark
219,148 records
Bull shark
152,505 records
Whitetip Shark
33,552 records
Sandbar shark
29,459 records
Caribbean reef shark
26,288 records
Silky Shark
23,890 records
Silvertip Shark
19,637 records
Spot-tail shark
9,379 records
Status from the records: resident
Recorded across many years and months — an established presence. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.
Recorded across many years and months — an established presence. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.