Sharks
Silvertip Shark
Carcharhinus albimarginatus · Cartilaginous fish — family Carcharhinidae
A silvertip's arrival changes the temperature of a dive. The shape reads at distance — heavier than a grey reef shark, every fin edged in white as if dipped in paint — and the approach is pure confidence, a straight line ending in a slow bank a meter or two away. They own the deep edges of remote reefs: Osprey's North Horn, the Burma Banks, the seamounts of the Revillagigedos. Encounters feel like an audience granted rather than a sighting achieved. Slow to mature and faithful to isolated sites, silvertips vanish quickly when longlines find their banks, so the remaining strongholds sit mostly inside marine parks and far from ports.
Dónde y cuándo ver uno
"Residente" significa que la mayoría de las inmersiones en ese destino tienen encuentros con ellos; "estacional" significa que su presencia es fiable en los meses indicados; cualquier otra cosa es un extra, no algo con lo que contar.
| Destino | Fiabilidad | Meses | Notas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro & the RevillagigedosMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | Todo el año | |
| Coral Sea & Osprey ReefAustralia | Resident — seen on most dives | Todo el año | |
| Mergui ArchipelagoMyanmar | Seasonal — reliable in season | Nov–Apr | |
| RangiroaFrench Polynesia | Occasional | Todo el año | |
| Kimbe BayPapua New Guinea | Occasional | Todo el año |
El mejor mes, de un vistazo
Comprendiéndolos
Hábitat: Offshore banks, seamount flanks, and steep outer-reef drop-offs, typically deeper than its reef-shark relatives
Rango: Patchy across the tropical Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific — East Africa, the Andaman Sea, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Coral Sea, French Polynesia, and offshore Mexico and Colombia
Comportamiento: The boss of the drop-off. Silvertips carry themselves with a directness that greys and blacktips lack, approaching divers head-on for a close inspection pass before resuming patrol. Every fin wears a brilliant white margin, unmistakable when the animal banks in the blue.
Dieta: Reef and pelagic fish, including smaller sharks and rays; frequently dominant over other species at a carcass or feed
Tamaño: normalmente alrededor de 1.8 m; documentado hasta 2.7 m (total length; a heavier, broader-shouldered build than the grey reef sharks it resembles).
Cómo comportarse cerca de uno
Meet the head-on approach calmly without retreating mid-pass, stay off the bait line at feeds, and keep gauges and hoses clipped tight — silvertips are known to test dangling objects.
Conservación
Assessed Vulnerable in 2020; isolated island populations show sharp declines wherever offshore fishing reaches, and recolonization between distant banks is slow.
Puntos conocidos por avistamientos
Ver
Desde los canales oficiales
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Sink or Swim? with Monét X Change | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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