lautnusantara.com - Shark are known as the ocean top predators, most of them are carnivorous and eats marine creature like fish, seal, squid, octopus, and even sea birds. Some sharks like Great White, Mako and Whale Shark will migrate over many thousand kilometres each year, but there are also certain type of shark that inhabit the reef ecosystem. These sharks are the Whitetip, Blacktip, Grey Reef Shark and Caribbean Reef Shark. Whitetip, Blacktip, Grey Reef Shark are occupy the Indo-Pacific area, while the Caribbean Reef Shark are found dominantly in the western Atlantic Ocean.

1.    Whitetip Shark  (Triaenodon obesus)

The whitetip shark is a relatively small shark that less than 1.6 m in length. This shark can be found exclusively around the coral reefs, ledges with high vertical relief, or over sandy flats seafloor. Whitetip tend to like clear water ecosystem and rarely swim far from the bottom. In the day time, they will spend most of the time resting inside caves. Unlike many sharks that needs to constantly swim to breathe, whitetip can pump water over their gills and lie still on the bottom. They have slender, lithe bodies, that allow them to wriggle into crevices and holes to catch their prey. 

2.    Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)

The Blacktip shark has a similar body size to the whitetip, they are typically about 1.6 m long. This shark often found swims over reef ledges and sandy flat surface. Blacktip shark can also enter brackish and freshwater environments. This species likes to live in shallow water, while the whitetip and grey reef shark are prefer deeper water. They are active predators of small bony fishes, cephalopods and crustaceans. They also prey on sea snakes and seabirds.

Read also: Anadromous and Catadromous Difference

3.    Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)

The size of Grey Reef Sharks are usually less than 1.9 m long. Because this sharks is larger than whitetip nor blacktip, Grey Reef sharks considered as the most dominant species in the reef ecosystem. This shark is a very social species, because often seen building ‘school’ of more than 100 individuals. They are active during the day and the night as well. The Grey Reef Sharks are mostly found near the drop-offs at the outer edges of the reef. On some occasion, they will travel several kilometres into the open oceans.

4.    Caribbean Shark (Carcharhinus perezii)

The Caribbean reef shark size are up to 3 m long, they are one of the largest apex predators in the reef ecosystem. Similar to the whitetip shark ability, the Caribbean reef sharks also have been documented resting motionless inside caves. This shark is playing important role in shaping the Caribbean reef communities. They are most active at night, with no evidence of migration. This sharks feed on wide variety of marine creatures like bony fishes, cephalopods, and some elasmobranchs like eagle ray and yellow stingrays.

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