Whitetip reef shark  (Triaenodon obesus)

The whitetip reef shark is found widely throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It occurs as far west as the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean and as far east as the coast of Costa Rica and Panama in the Pacific Ocean (3). Now found in Mexican waters as well (5).

As its name indicates, this shark is a reef shark that typically lives along the bottom of clear tropical waters near coral reefs, where it rests in aggregations in caves during the day and feeds at night (3) (4). It prefers shallow waters but has been reported at depths of 330 meters, although this has not been confirmed (4) (5).