Requiem sharks
Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas
A large, stout coastal shark able to move between salt water and fresh water.
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Every figure uses the same scale. The shark image is shown at the species’ published maximum length; individual animals vary.
Coastal marine water, estuaries, lagoons, river mouths, and freshwater rivers.
Warm coastal waters worldwide; along the western Atlantic it ranges seasonally from the tropics into temperate U.S. waters.
Usually coastal and shallow; also enters rivers
Fish, rays, sharks, turtles, birds, and other available prey.
Stout gray body, broad rounded snout, small eyes, and no ridge between the dorsal fins.
Live-bearing; females commonly use low-salinity estuaries and lagoons as nursery habitat.
Species facts
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Specialized body chemistry lets bull sharks tolerate freshwater.
Some individuals have traveled far upriver from the ocean.