Galapagos shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Galapagos shark lives – recorded in 12 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Carcharhinus galapagensis
Group	Sharks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	12 countries
Continents	Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Family	Carcharhinidae

Where does the Galapagos shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Galapagos shark in 12 countries and territories across Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania 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 Galapagos shark endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the Galapagos shark?

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

About the Galapagos shark

The Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, found worldwide. It favors clear reef environments around oceanic islands, where it is often the most abundant shark species. A large species that often reaches 3.0 m (9.8 ft), the Galapagos reef shark has a typical fusiform "reef shark" shape and is very difficult to distinguish from the dusky shark (C. obscurus) and the grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos). An identifying character of this species is its tall first dorsal fin, which has a slightly rounded tip and originates over the rear tips of the pectoral fins.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Galapagos shark (revision 1381347159), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q83722 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).