Marine life  /  Sharks & rays  /  Bull shark
Species entry

Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas

A heavy grey requiem shark of shallow coastal water, river mouths and fresh water, dived deliberately at a few sites.

Size
To 350 cm
Active
Day and night
Range
Warm seas worldwide, and rivers
SP-01
bull shark · full body · habitat
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A stout grey shark with a short blunt snout, small eyes and a large first dorsal fin. Commonly two to three metres. The build is the identification: it is noticeably thickset compared with other requiem sharks of the same length.

It uses shallow coastal water, estuaries, harbours and rivers, and tolerates fresh water for long distances. That overlap with people, rather than any particular disposition, is why it appears in the records more often than most sharks.

It is dived deliberately at a number of sites, in clear water and under supervision, and those dives are unremarkable. Ordinary caution applies in the other case, which is low visibility in shallow coastal water near a river mouth: that is the situation to avoid, particularly at dawn, at dusk and after rain.

Where to find:

This entry carries no occurrence record. The animal is listed because it is a hazard a diver should be able to look up, and its range is given above, but none of the destinations this site holds data for is inside that range. A record will be added when there is one to add rather than an estimate to invent.

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