Caribbean reef shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Caribbean reef shark lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Carcharhinus perezi
Group	Sharks
Status	Endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	9 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Family	Carcharhinidae

Where does the Caribbean reef shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Caribbean reef shark in 9 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Caribbean reef shark endangered?

The Caribbean reef shark’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Caribbean reef shark?

The Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Carcharhiniformes and the family Carcharhinidae, genus Carcharhinus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Caribbean reef shark

The Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi) is a species of requiem shark, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encountered reef shark in the Caribbean Sea. With a robust, streamlined body typical of the requiem sharks, this species is difficult to tell apart from other large members of its family such as the dusky shark (C. obscurus) and the silky shark (C. falciformis). Distinguishing characteristics include dusky-colored fins without prominent markings, a short free rear tip on the second dorsal fin, and tooth shape and number.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Caribbean reef shark (revision 1378057042), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q592165 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).