the horse's mouth

Mermaid Monday.

Mermaids still exist!

Fish On Fridays.

What is it with everyone going out of their way to swim with sharks? It's a good thing that Black Tips are timid and skittish.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Summer brings us the best opportunity to go for a swim. If you're lucky you might see a mermaid.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

This should wake you up. It's time for work!

Monday Morning Mermaid.

I hope you had a great weekend. Now back to the salt mines!

Fish On Fridays.

Fun under da sea.

Monday Morning Mermaids.

I'm back from Mexico and so are the mermaids.

Monday Morning Mermaids.

There are many gifts that come from the sea.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

When you swim under the waves you sometimes encounter beautiful marine life.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Happy Monday, happy Hannah!

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Floating in a sea of blue.

It's all about the eyeballs.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Happy Monday!
Now back to the salt mines.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Happy Monday!

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Can anyone say Bermuda? More to come.

Fish On Fridays. Black Tip Reef Sharks And A Wahine. "Swimming With The Sharks."

Taxonomy 

The blacktip shark was first described by Valenciennes in Muller & Henle (1839) as Carcharias (Prionodon) limbatus. It has also appeared in the literature as Carcharias (Prionodon) pleurotaenia, Carcharias microps, Carcharias (Prionodon)muelleri, Carcharias maculipinna, Carcharias ehrenbergi, Carcharias aethlorus, Gymnorrhinus abbreviatus, Carcharias phorcys, and Carcharhinus natator. The currently valid scientific name is Carcharhinus limbatus (Müller and Henle 1839). The genus name Carcharhinus is derived from the Greek "karcharos" = sharpen and "rhinos" = nose. The species name "limbatus" originates from Latin, meaning bordered in reference to the black markings on its fins. 


Common Names 

The blacktip shark gets its name from its distinctive black markings on the tips of its fins. It is also known as blackfin (Guam, Micronesia, Trinidad and Tobago), black-tipped (Papua New Guinea), small blacktip (Cuba, Leeward Islands), and spot-fin ground shark (UK).


Geographical Distribution 

Blacktip sharks are cosmopolitan in tropical to subtropical coastal, shelf, and island waters. In the Atlantic during their seasonal migration they range from Nova Scotia to Brazil, but their center of abundance is in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. They occur throughout the Mediterranean and along the central West coast of Africa. In the Pacific they range from Southern California to Peru, including the Sea of Cortez. They occur at the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, Tahiti, and other South Pacific Islands, to the North coast of Australia. In the Indian Ocean they range from South Africa and Madagascar up to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, throughout India's coast, and east to the coast of China. 


World distribution map for the blacktip shark

Habitat 

The blacktip shark inhabits inshore and offshore waters, but is not a truly pelagic species. They are often seen nearshore around river mouths, bays, mangrove swamps, and in other estuaries, though they do not penetrate far into freshwater. They can be found offshore and over deep waters near coral reef dropoffs, but primarily stay in the upper 100 feet (30 m) of the water column. 
A young blacktip shark cruises the Caribbean shallows
© Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch

 

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Happy Monday!

Enough dilly dallying. I'm back to blogging.

Monday Morning Mermaid.

Happy Monday!