Sealife guideThe bull sharkCarcharhinus leucas

Taxonomy

Common name: Bull shark, Zambezi shark
French name: Requin bouledogue, requin du Zambèze
Spanish name: Tiburón toro
Scientific name: Carcharhinus leucas (Müller & Henle, 1839)
Family name: Carcharhinidae
Order name: Carcharhiniformes
Class name: Elasmobranchii

Description

The bull shark, also known as the Zambezi shark, is a relatively large species of shark. The bull shark typically measures around 10 feet in length but can reach a maximum size of 13 feet, with females generally being larger than males.

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is also known as the Zambezi shark © Fiona Ayerst | Dreamstime.com

The bull shark has a stocky, streamlined body with a wide, flat head, giving it a bulldog-like appearance, which is where it gets its name. The dorsal side of its body is grayish to brownish, while its ventral side is whitish.

An adult bull shark weighs around 500 pounds, though some specimens may weigh even more.

Range

Bull sharks inhabit warm tropical, subtropical and temperate waters around the globe and are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.

Habitat

As a coastal species, the bull shark prefers shallow waters near shorelines. It frequently ventures into brackish estuaries and swims upriver into deep rivers and streams. It is also a pelagic shark occasionally found far offshore.

Bull sharks are typically encountered at depths around 100 feet but can dive as deep as 525 feet.

Diet

An opportunistic predator, the bull shark feeds on a wide range of prey, including other shark species, marine and freshwater fish, sea turtles, marine mammals such as dolphins, squid, and seabirds. Bull sharks are also known to scavenge on animal carcasses.

The bull shark is a relatively large species of shark © Nicolás Sánchez Biezma | Dreamstime.com

The bull shark is considered highly dangerous due to its aggressiveness, though human attacks are rare despite media attention (Reunion island between 2011 and 2021, Green Cay near Nassau in the Bahamas in 2022, Noumea in New Caledonia in early 2023).

Reproduction

The bull shark is a viviparous species, meaning that, like humans, embryos develop inside the female's body. After a gestation period of around 10 to 12 months, the female gives birth to about a dozen baby sharks, each approximately 2 feet long.

Did you know ?

Bull shark populations are declining primarily due to fishing, accidental bycatch in gillnets and longlines and the degradation of their habitats.

As a coastal species, the bull shark prefers shallow waters near shorelines © Hoatzinexp | Dreamstime.com

The bull shark is unique in its ability to thrive in both saltwater and freshwater environments, making it an euryhaline species.

The bull shark is listed as many other marine species within The IUCN Red List of threatened species. The bull shark appears in the IUCN Red List since 2021 within the category Vulnerable !

Within the same genus

Blacktip shark
(Carcharhinus limbatus)

Copper shark
(Carcharhinus brachyurus)

Caribbean reef shark
(Carcharhinus perezi)

Galapagos shark
(Carcharhinus galapagensis)

Sandbar shark
(Carcharhinus plumbeus)

Grey reef shark
(Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)

Blacknose shark
(Carcharhinus acronotus)

Oceanic whitetip shark
(Carcharhinus longimanus)

Within the same family

Blue shark
(Prionace glauca)

Lemon shark
(Negaprion brevirostris)

Whitetip reef shark
(Triaenodon obesus)

Tiger shark
(Galeocerdo cuvier)

Explore also

Great hammerhead shark
(Sphyrna mokarran)

Whale shark
(Rhincodon typus)

Port Jackson shark
(Heterodontus portusjacksoni)

Zebra bullhead shark
(Heterodontus zebra)

Basking Shark
(Cetorhinus maximus)

Banded houndshark
(Triakis scyllium)

Puffadder shyshark
(Haploblepharus edwardsii)

Leafscale gulper shark
(Centrophorus squamosus)

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