Copper shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the copper shark lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Carcharhinus brachyurus
Group	Sharks
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	Africa, Oceania
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Family	Carcharhinidae

Where does the copper shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the copper shark in 3 countries and territories across Africa and Oceania. 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 copper shark endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the copper shark?

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

About the copper shark

The copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus), bronze whaler, or narrowtooth shark is a species of requiem shark found mostly in temperate latitudes. It is distributed in a number of separate populations in the northeastern and southwestern Atlantic, off southern Africa, in the northwestern and eastern Pacific, and around Australia and New Zealand, with scattered reports from equatorial regions. The species can be found from brackish rivers and estuaries to shallow bays and harbors, to offshore waters 100 m (330 ft) deep or more. Females are found apart from males for most of the year, and conduct seasonal migrations. A large species reaching 3.3 m (11 ft) long, the copper shark is difficult to distinguish from other large requiem sharks. It is characterized by its narrow, hook-shaped upper teeth, lack of a prominent ridge between the dorsal fins, and plain bronze coloration.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Copper shark (revision 1368875765), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q928469 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).