Bronze Whaler, Carcharhinus brachyurus (Günther 1870)

Other Names: Black-tipped Whaler, Bronze Whaler Shark, Bronzie, Cocktail, Cocktail Shark, Copper Shark, Narrowtooth Shark, New Zealand Whaler

Summary:

A bronze to greyish-brown whaler shark grading to pale below, with an indistinct pale stripe anteriorly along the lower side from the pelvic fin, and sometimes darker fin tips. Bronze whalers have a large first dorsal fin that originates above the inner margin of the pectoral fin, no interdorsal ridge, a precaudal pit. The species also has large pectoral fins, and a large upper caudal-fin lobe.

The similar Galapagos Shark, Carcharhinus galapagensis, has a more slender body and a very erect first dorsal fin.

This large shark occurs in coastal and continental shelf waters of southern Australia. While not usually aggressive, the species is potentially dangerous to humans.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Carcharhinus brachyurus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 23 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2883

Bronze Whaler, Carcharhinus brachyurus (Günther 1870)

More Info

Distribution	Moreton Bay, Queensland, around southern Australia, to Shark Bay, Western Australia, including northern Tasmania. Observer records indicate that the Bronze Whaler may be much more widely-distributed, especially off Queensland and Western Australia. Elsewhere, the species occurs worldwide in warm temperate and subtropical coastal and continental shelf waters; absent from the eastern Pacific, and rare or absent in the tropics. Bronze whalers frequently occur in shallow coastal waters, including bays, harbours and along surf beaches, especially during summer months. Individuals may also enter estuaries and large rivers. In Australia and New Zealand, they form loose aggregations in shallow inshore waters during spring and summer. The Bronze Whaler is most abundant in Australia between Bass Strait and Albany in the west, and is the most common species of Carcharhinus in South Australian and Victorian waters.
Features	Vertebrae 179-203 (precaudal 96-110); Jaw teeth (upper) 15 or 16-2 or 3-15 or 16 Jaw teeth (lower): 15-1-15 Snout moderately long (length to mouth 5-10% TL), pointed; upper teeth of adult males longer and more hooked near tips than in females; first dorsal-fin origin over or just anterior to free rear tip of pectoral fin, both sets of fins tapering distally, apices pointed or narrowly rounded; interdorsal ridge usually absent.
Size	295 cm TL
Colour	Bronze to greyish brown above, pale below, with an indistinct band anteriorly on sides from pelvic fin to above pectoral fin; fin margins and fin tips sometimes darker.
Feeding	Feeds on a wide range of bottom-dwelling and pelagic fishes and cephalopods; also known to eat jellyfishes and crustaceans.
Biology	Bronze Whalers are viviparous, with a yolk sac placenta. Females give birth to litters of 7-20 pups, born at 60-70 cmTL after about a 12 month gestation period. Males mature at about 2.35 m TL, and females at 2.45 m TL.
Fisheries	Often taken as bycatch in gill net, longline and trawl fisheries.
Conservation	Bronze whalers are vulnerable to over fishing by targeted fisheries and as bycatch. They are also taken in shark-control nets set to protect swimmers at beaches.
Remarks
Similar Species	Similar to the more slender Galapagos Shark, which has a very erect first dorsal fin.
Etymology	The specific name brachyurus is from the Greek brachys (= short) and oura (= tailed), although the caudal fin of this species is not short.
Species Citation	Carcharias brachyurus Günther, 1870, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. 8: 369. Type locality: Wanganui, New Zealand.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Bronze Whaler, Carcharhinus brachyurus (Günther 1870)

References

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