What Animal Lives Where

Where has the Milk Shark been recorded?

Rhizoprionodon acutus occurrence evidence comes from 291 records in 28 countries and territories, from 1903 to 2023. Most records come from Mauritania.

ElasmobranchiiCarcharhiniformesCarcharhinidaeRhizoprionodon

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

291 records across 28 countries and territories, 1903–2023.

Rhizoprionodon acutus · GBIF taxon key 2417866

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-21. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: May.

4 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May. 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

19032023

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where Milk Shark has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for Milk Shark. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
Mauritania 171
Papua New Guinea 19
South Africa 19
Philippines 13
Australia 8
Sierra Leone 7
India 6
Benin 5
Malaysia 5
Pakistan 4
Taiwan 4
Yemen 4
Angola 3
Cabo Verde 3
Myanmar 3
Eritrea 2
Guinea 2
Kuwait 2
Madagascar 2
United Arab Emirates 1
Bangladesh 1
Brazil 1
China 1
Egypt 1
Hong Kong 1
Senegal 1
Thailand 1
Vietnam 1

Related animals

Others in the family Carcharhinidae.

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Silky Shark
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Sandbar shark
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Whitetip Shark
Whitetip Shark
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Grey Shark
Grey Shark
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Blacktip Reef Shark
Blacktip Reef Shark
856 records
Spot-tail shark
Spot-tail shark
383 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. 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.