The silky shark is a sleek, bronze-grey requiem shark that grows to around 3.5 metres, named for its unusually smooth skin. It inhabits tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, often found in deeper waters beyond 200 metres but ranging into shallower depths near continental shelves. Silky sharks are fast, powerful hunters that frequently gather in feeding aggregations and are known for their bold, competitive behaviour around bait. The species is vulnerable to overfishing, particularly in longline fisheries, and its population status is listed as vulnerable.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Carcharhinidae
- Genus
- Carcharhinus
Most likely to be seen at
Sites where its range and habitat make it likely — not yet confirmed by a logged sighting.