The shallow-water shark most snorkellers meet first — small, skittish, and unmistakable with jet-black fin tips dipped as if in ink. It patrols turquoise lagoons and reef flats in water sometimes barely deep enough to cover its back. Naturally timid, it bolts from swimmers far more often than it approaches.
- Size
- ~1.6 m
- Weight
- Up to ~24 kg.
- Diet
- Small reef fishes, crustaceans, cephalopods, occasionally sea snakes.
- Lifespan
- ~15–25 years.
- Depth
- Surface to ~75 m; favours very shallow reef flats and lagoons.
- Reproduction
- Live-bearing; 2–4 pups, gestation ~8–9 months.
- Snorkel or dive
- Snorkel / shallow water
- Best season
- Year-round
- Conservation
- Vulnerable
How to recognise it
Conspicuous black tips on all fins; bold black-on-white first dorsal; tan-brown back.
Behaviour in the wild
Shy and skittish; cruises shallow sandy flats, lagoons and reef edges, dorsal often breaking the surface.
Where to see it in the Maldives
Ubiquitous in shallow lagoons and house-reef flats at virtually every resort island.
Visual field notes
See blacktip reef shark from more than one angle.
3 human-reviewed photographs chosen for identity, habitat and behaviour.
01 · Field portrait · Species reference
PhotoCharles J. SharpCC BY-SA 4.0web-adapted
02 · Habitat · Maldives photograph
PhotoEd Ralph from UKCC BY 2.0web-adapted
03 · Behaviour & scale · Maldives photograph
PhotoTimo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland and Chalfont St Giles, Bucks, UKCC BY-SA 2.0web-adapted
Recorded locations
Build a trip from real sighting records.
Atolls
Dive and snorkel sites
Conservation context
Inshore and artisanal fisheries, bycatch; heavy reliance on shallow habitats.
IUCN · Vulnerable
Watch responsibly
Move slowly in the shallows; no chasing or cornering against the reef, never feed — they spook easily.
Field notes
Juveniles nursery in ankle-deep lagoon water — many travellers' first-ever wild shark.
In parts of its range it can reproduce by parthenogenesis (virgin birth), with no male present.
Collective noun · a shiver of sharks
Profile references
References are shown transparently; profile copy may also include editorial synthesis. Seasons and sightings vary with wild conditions.
