Find a Fish
Bull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas Valenciennes, 1839
Above and below: A 2.5 m long Bull Shark at a depth of 25 m, ‘The Cod Hole’, northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, November 2006. Photo © J. Coombs. View larger image.
All images below from a Bull Shark caught in Middle Harbour, Sydney, New South Wales, February 1999. Photo: P. Ovenden © Australian Museum.
Photo: P. Ovenden © Australian Museum.
Triangular, serrated upper jaw teeth. Photo: P. Ovenden © Australian Museum.
Lower jaw teeth. Photo: P. Ovenden © Australian Museum.
Structure of one clasper. Photo: P. Ovenden © Australian Museum.
The Bull Shark can be recognised by a combination of characters including a stout body, short blunt snout, triangular serrated teeth in the upper jaw and no fin markings as an adult. The species has a second dorsal fin about one third the height of the first, a small eye, and no skin ridge between the two dorsal fins. It is grey above and pale below, sometimes with a pale stripe on the flank.
The species grows to a length of 3.4 m.
It has an omnivorous diet which includes fishes (including other sharks), dolphins, turtles, birds, molluscs, echinoderms and even terrestrial mammals.
The Bull Shark can live in a wide range of habitats from coastal marine and estuarine, to freshwater. It has been recorded from the surf zone down to a depth of at least 150 m. It is the only species of shark that is known to stay for extended periods in freshwater. It has been reported nearly 4000 km from the sea in the Amazon River system, and is known to breed in Lake Nicaragua, Central America.
This species has a widespread distribution in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide.
In Australia the Bull Shark occurs from south-western, Western Australia, around the northern coastline and down the east coast to the central coast of New South Wales.
It is an aggressive species that is considered dangerous to humans. Some authors consider that the Bull Shark may be more dangerous than the White Shark and the Tiger Shark. This is because of the Bull Shark's omnivorous diet and habitat preferences. The species may be found in murky water, where the splashing of a swimmer could be mistaken for a struggling fish.
The Bull Shark has also been called the River Shark, Freshwater Whaler, Estuary Whaler and Swan River Whaler.
The 2.8 m long fish in the images was caught on 18 February 1999, in a commercial fishing net near Grotto Point, Middle Harbour (Sydney Harbour) by T. and V. Depasquale and S. Virtu. This catch was a most unusual occurrence which attracted significant media interest. The specimen was on display at the Sydney Fish Markets for a week (where the images were taken) before it was donated to the Australian Museum by G. Costi (De Costi Seafoods). The specimen is now registered in the Australian Museum Fish Collection (AMS I.39432-001).
The lower two images show the claspers of the male shark. The claspers are located between the pelvic fins and are used for sperm transfer to the female. The hand at the left of the lower image has pulled open the folded tissue which forms the groove down which sperm passes during reproduction. The right hand has opened the tip of the clasper.
Related links
- View the sharks list
- View the family Carcharhinidae list
- View underwater images at Klaus Jost - wildlife and nature underwater.
Further reading
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Paxton, J.R. 2003. Shark nets in the spotlight. Nature Australia. Spring. 27 (10): 84. (view pdf, 86k. Reproduced with permission from Nature Australia magazine. To see the latest Nature Australia go to www.natureaustralia.net).
