Requiem sharks are sharks of the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. They are migratory, live-bearing sharks of warm seas (sometimes of brackish or fresh water) and includes such species as the tiger shark, bull shark, spinner shark, blacknose shark, blacktip shark, grey reef shark, blacktip reef shark, silky shark, dusky shark, blue shark, copper shark, oceanic whitetip shark, and whitetip reef shark.
Family members have the usual carcharhiniform characteristics. Their eyes are round, and 1 or 2 gill slits fall over the pectoral fin base. Most species are ovoviviparous, the young being born fully developed. They vary widely in size, from as small as 69 centimeters (2.26 feet) adult length in the Australian sharpnose shark, up to 5.5 meters (18 feet) adult length in the tiger shark. Scientists assume that size and shape of their pectoral fins have the right dimensions to minimize transport cost. Requiem sharks tend to live in more tropical areas, but tend to migrate. Females release a chemical in the ocean in order to let the males know they are ready to mate. Typical mating time for these sharks are around spring to autumn.
Requiem sharks are involved in a large proportion of attacks on humans, among the top 5 species; however, due to the difficulty in identifying individual species, a degree of inaccuracy exists in attack records.
This category is for animals that are requiem sharks.
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