English Name: Bull Shark
Local Name: Goh’ Miyaru
Size: 3.24 m
Family: Carcharhinidae
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Distinctive Characters: Stout body. Head wide and bluntly rounded with a very short snout and small eyes. Broad triangular first dorsal fin; origin level with pectoral fin axil. First and second dorsal fins have short free rear tips. No interdorsal ridge. Subtle caudal keel. Dorsal colouration grey or grey/brown, occasionally with irregular darker blotches. Fins unmarked or slightly dusky towards tips/posterior margins; more noticeable in juveniles.
Colour: Grey to grey/brownish with white under belly sometimes with darker blotches.
Habitat and Biology: A warm water species preferring temperatures of 26ºC or warmer. Found on inshore reefs and bays. It is a euryhaline species that travels thousands of kilometres up large rivers and into lakes that access the ocean. Surface to at least 152m.
Distribution: The bull shark has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and sub-tropical nearshore environments. It has been recorded hundreds or thousands of kms in the Amazon, Mississippi, and other large rivers of the tropics.
Remarks: Bull sharks mostly cruise close to substrate. They are known to travel over long distances, migrating into warmer water over the winter months. Bull sharks are well known for ability to tolerate fresh water. They have been found thousands of miles upriver but it is unclear if they are residents or nomadic in the world’s great tropical rivers.