Spinner Shark

Todd Sain Sr.

7 years ago

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Photographer: Matthew Paulson
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Spinner Shark Facts

The Spinner Shark names a medium-sized species of requiem shark that has become quite popular with spectators for its acrobatics.
Its common name comes from its unique feeding strategy since the species typically feed on schools of small fish. When it attacks its prey, the Spinner Shark swims vertically through the school with a spinning motion.
The species has also become popular for its tendency to leap completely out of the water at times which makes for a really beautiful sight.
Relative to its size, this amazing animal represents one of the swiftest and most gregarious predators in any ocean. The fish does not typically pose a threat to humans unless the individual is in a feeding frenzy, however.
The IUCN currently lists the species Near Threatened, and may soon raise that to Threatened.

Swell Shark Australian Ghost Shark Bull Shark

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Photographer: Matthew Paulson
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Spinner Shark Physical Description

The adult Spinner Shark sometimes attains a length of as much as 10 ft (3 m). However, roughly 6.4 ft (2 m) serves as a more common length.

Also, an average weight equals about 123 lb (56 kg) for adults. The body shape stays extremely slim and streamlined, and the rather distinctive snout grows elongated and pointed.

The upper teeth are highly serrated while the lower teeth are smooth. The eyes remain rather small and circular in shape.

The body of the Spinner Shark is covered with a dense layer of dermal denticles. The color pattern is typically gray above, and white below. The gill slits grow comparatively long for a shark of its size.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Carcharhinus
Species: C. brevipinna

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Spinner Shark Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology

The amazing Spinner Shark most commonly inhabits specific regions within most of the world’s oceans.

In the Atlantic, it lives on the east coast of the United States to the northern Gulf of Mexico as well as from northern Africa to Namibia.

In the Indian Ocean, the Spinner Shark inhabits the area from South Africa to Madagascar and Sumatra, and from Japan to the Philippines in the Pacific.

It also prefers to inhabit the shallower depths of the ocean or between the surface and depths of no more than 330 ft (100 m). The Spinner Shark even inhabits the shallow waters up to and including the surf of a shoreline.