Body shape and size
Slender, streamlined body commonly reaching about 2.5 m in length.
Silky Shark
Carcharhinus falciformis
A widespread pelagic requiem shark with a slender body, long sickle-shaped pectoral fins, and a metallic bronze-gray coloration.
blackspot sharkgray whaler sharkolive sharkridgeback sharksickle shark
Last Updated Mar 9, 2026 · 2 sources
Photo byAlex Chernikh
Species Guide
What to know about silky sharks
A clean field guide focused on habitat, identification, behavior, and conservation context without burying the useful parts.
The silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) is a requiem shark named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone and occurs worldwide in tropical waters. Highly mobile and migratory, silky sharks are most often found over the edge of the continental shelf down to about 50 m.
Silky sharks have a slender, streamlined body and commonly reach lengths around 2.5 m. Identification features include a relatively small first dorsal fin with a curving rear margin, a tiny second dorsal fin with a long free rear tip, long sickle-shaped pectoral fins, and a deep metallic bronze-gray dorsum with a white underside.
They are swift, inquisitive, and persistent hunters that feed mainly on bony fishes and cephalopods, and often trail schools of tuna. Their highly acute hearing helps them localize low-frequency sounds produced by feeding animals. Silky sharks have live birth (viviparous) with embryos sustained via a placental connection; females give birth to litters of up to 16 pups either annually or biennially depending on region. Newborns spend their first months in relatively sheltered reef nurseries on the outer continental shelf before moving offshore.
Identification
How to identify silky sharks
The visual markers divers can use underwater, plus the species most likely to cause confusion.
Key identification markers
Fins
Relatively small first dorsal fin with a curving rear margin; tiny second dorsal fin with a long free rear tip; long, sickle-shaped pectoral fins.
Coloration and skin
Deep metallic bronze-gray above and white below; named for the smooth texture of its skin.
Range and Movement
How silky sharks move through the world
The broad range, seasonal movement, or migratory behavior that shapes where divers encounter this species.
Highly mobile and migratory pelagic shark, most often found over the continental shelf edge down to about 50 m.
Diet
What silky sharks tend to eat
Useful feeding context that often explains habitat, movement, and encounter style.
Feeds mainly on bony fishes and cephalopods; often trails schools of tuna and can drive prey into compacted schools before attacking.
Conservation
What is happening with Silky Sharks
Status, pressure, and protection context grounded in cited sources rather than filler.
Once thought buffered by wide distribution and abundance, data show global declines related to commercial and artisanal fisheries and tuna-fishery bycatch, prompting an IUCN Vulnerable listing in 2017.
Main threats
Targeted and commercial fishing
Silky sharks are targeted for their fins and also retained for meat, hide, liver oil, and jaws, forming a major component of many shark fisheries.
Bycatch in tuna fisheries
Association with tuna causes many silky sharks to be taken as bycatch in tuna fisheries.
Responsible Encounters
How to dive with silky sharks
Conservation-minded guidance for divers who want the encounter without adding pressure.
Exercise caution around silky sharks; their size and teeth make them potentially dangerous and they have shown aggressive behavior toward divers, though attacks are rare.
Field Notes
Interesting things worth knowing
Useful species context that makes the encounter more meaningful once you are underwater.
Field notes
Viviparous reproduction
Embryos are sustained via a placental connection; females give birth to litters of up to 16 pups annually or biennially.
Nursery use
Newborns spend their first months in relatively sheltered reef nurseries on the outer continental shelf.
Acute hearing
Silky sharks have an extremely acute sense of hearing that helps them localize low-frequency noises from feeding animals.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Clear planning and conservation answers written for search visibility and AI retrieval.
Research Sources
Silky Shark information sources
Primary and credible references behind the field-guide and conservation claims on this page.
Sources 2Last Updated
Carcharhinus falciformis · Taxonomy · WoRMS
Primary wildlife guide source.
Silky Shark · Encyclopedia · Britannica
Supporting wildlife source.
Related Species
More in Sharks
Related species guides in the same encounter family.
