Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Carcharhinus longimanus (Poey, 1861)

cazón, tiburón oceánico, tiburón pardo, galano, Oceanic whitetip shark

Subtropical (18-28 C). Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. A stocky shark with a huge, rounded 1st dorsal fin, and long, wide-tipped pectoral fins; snout bluntly rounded; upper teeth triangular; interdorsal ridge present (Ref. 5578). Back usually dark grey with a bronze tinge, sometimes brown or bluish; belly whitish, sometimes with a yellow tinge; tips off first dorsal, pectorals, and lower lobe of caudal often white or with white spots (sometimes absent); ventral surface of pelvic fins, apices of anal and second dorsal, and ventral lobe of caudal often with black spots; black or dusky saddle-marks in front of second dorsal, upper margin of caudal and between dorsal fins (especially in young) (Ref. 9997).

Deep-water species wich sometimes comes close to shore.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Elasmobranchii

Order
Carcharhiniformes

Family
Carcharhinidae

Genus
Carcharhinus

Species
longimanus

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Status

Vulnerable

Distribution

Distribution: Cosmopolitan

References

  • Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
  • McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Carcharhinus longimanus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12790. Accessed 14 June 2025.