Carcharhinidae

Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas

A broad snout far into freshwater rivers

• Gray
• White
• Tropical
• Nearshore
• Globally widespread
• Marine fish
• Fusiform
• Large
• Tropical fish

Formidable physical bulk and an extraordinary physiological tolerance for freshwater make the bull shark one of the most ecologically versatile apex marine predators in tropical waters. Its stocky, heavy-set torso displays a slate-grey dorsal coloration that contrasts with an immaculate white belly, accented by an exceptionally broad, blunt snout and small, dark eyes. Specialized adaptations in its kidneys, rectal gland, and liver allow it to maintain osmotic equilibrium when transitioning seamlessly from fully marine oceans into brackish estuaries and pristine freshwater rivers. Circumglobally distributed in warm coastal shelves, river mouths, and shallow bays down to one hundred and fifty meters depth, it frequently travels thousands of kilometres inland up the Amazon, Mississippi, and Zambezi rivers. Diurnal and nocturnal hunters pursue a generalist diet consisting of teleost fishes, smaller elasmobranchs, sea turtles, marine mammals, and crustaceans. Viviparous with a yolk-sac placenta, this muscular apex predator attains recorded maximum total lengths of four hundred centimetres.

Sources: NOAA Fisheries — Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas