# shark id please help



## skater (Jul 28, 2006)

i thought that this was a black tip but my bud says that its not. does anyone have any input?


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## TeamOso (Sep 10, 2006)

I think its a bull shark if not a blaktip.


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## skater (Jul 28, 2006)

i didnt think that bulls had such a sharp pointed nose


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## TeamOso (Sep 10, 2006)

I would almost certainly say its a bull, this is from my limited shark knowledge which comes out to almost nothing. But I am almost positive its a bull


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## Oso Yakman (Jan 2, 2005)

Thats Not A Bull, Almost Certain It Is A Blacktip.
Osoyakman


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Blacktip. Did the anal fin have black on it or not?


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## txjoker (Jun 21, 2005)

Spinner, maybe?


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## skater (Jul 28, 2006)

no black on the anal fin, thats why i thought it was a black tip too.


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## CAPSIZED (Aug 10, 2004)

not a bull, it looks like a nice blacktip or spinner to me, either way its a nice catch off the beach.


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## Mitchw123456 (Aug 14, 2005)

blacktip, its nose isn't blunt


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Atlantic Sharpnose?


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

blacktip shark


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## Sponge (Jun 22, 2004)

For sure not a bull...99% sure it's a black tip!



TeamOso said:


> I would almost certainly say its a bull, this is from my limited shark knowledge which comes out to almost nothing. But I am almost positive its a bull


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## TeamOso (Sep 10, 2006)

Ouch. Sorry for the wrong info. skater. I have a chart of sharks of the Gulf, and the fish in the pic has a v jut out on his tail, and the bull matched. Sorry.


Kevin


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## myprozac (Feb 7, 2006)

black tip 
Jeff


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## wingnut (Jul 18, 2006)

It Is A Blacktip. A nice one too


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## FLAT FISHY (Jun 22, 2006)

great white piggy ?


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## bjreid (Sep 12, 2006)

It is a blacktip.


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## SALTY-HOOKER (Sep 14, 2005)

This is probably the most mis-identified shark caught on the beach of the gulf coast.
Not a Bull.
Not a Blacktip.
Not a Spinner, which is a large Blacktip.
Not an Atlantic sharpnose as they have a bigger eye, and the world record still stands around 48".

It is a Finetooth or Eventooth shark. It will commonly have the black color on the tips of the dorsal and latteral fins, but notice that the dorsal fin and tail point up.
On a Blacktip they point more to the back of the fish, and are slightly more round.

I think everyone should write a letter to:

Apex Predator Investigation
National Marine Fisheries
#28 Tarzwell Drive
Narragansett, RI. 02880-9909

Tell them what kind of fishing you do and ask for a shark tagging kit. The kit comes with a great shark ID book/field guide that is packed with great info. The program can be a lot of fun and doesn't cost a thing.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

that shark is 100% blacktip. The color, fin locations, head and body all give it away. Compare it to any other blacktip pic and you will see the same shark.

It is NOT a bull shark, it is NOT a finettoth.

Finetooth have no black on them anywhere and have a skinny body shape.

"This (finetooth) shark is dark bluish-grey or bronze above, paling to grayish then to a white underside. There is an inconspicuous white band along the flank. There are no distinguishing marks on the fins."

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/finetoothshark/finetoothshark.html

Look at this pic compared to Skater pic. It has the same color, same fin location, same gill location, same fins. It is a blacktip and Skaters is a balcktip.












SALTY-HOOKER said:


> This is probably the most mis-identified shark caught on the beach of the gulf coast.
> Not a Bull.
> Not a Blacktip.
> Not a Spinner, which is a large Blacktip.
> ...


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Bt.........


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

If JT, Redfishr, oso, justletmein, Mitch123456, say it's a bt,...I'LL BET MY 4/0 IT'S A BLACK TIP. Nice shark from the sand, congrats.


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## bjreid (Sep 12, 2006)

blacktip


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## SALTY-HOOKER (Sep 14, 2005)

Here is a picture of a blacktip and a picture of a finetooh. 
Which looks more like the shark in question?
I dont want to argue with anyone, and was only tring to be helpfull. But if you still need to argue, TJ, I'll send you the book and you can argue with the marine biologists that wrote it.
As long as there are fish to catch, I don't care what kind they are.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

SALTY-HOOKER said:


> Here is a picture of a blacktip and a picture of a finetooh.
> Which looks more like the shark in question?
> I dont want to argue with anyone, and was only tring to be helpfull. But if you still need to argue, TJ, I'll send you the book and you can argue with the marine biologists that wrote it.
> As long as there are fish to catch, I don't care what kind they are.


Not arguing, I know the difference. What is the name of the book, good chance I already have it.

Blacktips




























Finetooths


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## DPG (Aug 13, 2005)

Looks like a finetooth to me.


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## skater (Jul 28, 2006)

i looked at some id pics of finetooth and my shark did not have this, so im pretty positive that its a black tip.


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

If JR says its a pink shark, it aint blue.


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## BeachBumCSF (Nov 22, 2005)

skater said:


> i thought that this was a black tip but my bud says that its not. does anyone have any input?


Possibly a blacktip.

Possibly a finetooth. However, the size is uncommon, but not immpossible. The biggest I have tagged has been 5'6", but you rarely see them above the 4' range. The dorsal appears to be a bit big, but another note that still makes it seem like a finetooth is the tall gill slits. That is a big characteristic of that species. We can not see the underside of the fins, but if they lack any coloration...no black tips or dusky tips, then it is a finetooth. However, if it has black tips on the underside of the fins, I would go with blacktip.

Clearly not a bull....pointed snout and narrow dorsal fin. If the black tips under the pectoral fins were solid, it would be another note for not being a bull. Bulls have dusky tips only on the underside of the pecs. Dusky meaning smoke like coloration or not solid black.

Clearly not a spinner because the size of the dorsal fin and the distance between the first dorsal fin and second dorsal fin is too short to be a spinner.


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## BeachBumCSF (Nov 22, 2005)

skater said:


> i looked at some id pics of finetooth and my shark did not have this, so im pretty positive that its a black tip.


Dude, that thing looks pretty dried out. I finetooth that's alive doesn't look like that. Don't base you desicion on that picture. That may be a finetooth, but looks to be dead for a while and possible frozen and thawed out. From some of the sharks we frozen to take back to the lab from the research vessel, I have seem freezer burned areas look pink like it does on the shark in your picture. Do you know the history of that picture?

One question can simply the ID process. Did it have any markings on the other side of the pectoral fins?


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

BeachBumCSF said:


> Dude, that thing looks pretty dried out. I finetooth that's alive doesn't look like that. Don't base you desicion on that picture. That may be a finetooth, but looks to be dead for a while and possible frozen and thawed out. From some of the sharks we frozen to take back to the lab from the research vessel, I have seem freezer burned areas look pink like it does on the shark in your picture. Do you know the history of that picture?
> 
> One question can simply the ID process. Did it have any markings on the other side of the pectoral fins?


Here are pics of the bottom side of a LIVE finetooth that I caught a few weeks ago. I catch around 30 finetooth sharks each year from the kayak and beach. They are a pain, tend to be very snappy. Usually hang around large schools of bait and are very agressive. There mouth is always U shaped and looks like they are frowning at you when you look at them . NO black marks on a finetooth.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Just to get an ideal of the difference here are pics of the bottom and top sides of blacktips and bull sharks. Bum if you want some pics for your ID page let me know and I will send the full size ones to you.

Bottome side of a LIVE blacktip








Top side of a LIVE blacktip









Bottom side of a LIVE bull shark, notice the dusky tips on the pec fins.










Top side of a LIVE, very mean bull shark


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## BeachBumCSF (Nov 22, 2005)

Great picture of the underside of the finetooth. You are right about the finetooth being a pain in the rear while handling. They usually don't fight for squat. I do not know how many I have had just simply reel them in after the hook up. They don't fight and come in with a ton of energy. Pain to handle.



Jolly Roger said:


> Here are pics of the bottom side of a LIVE finetooth that I caught a few weeks ago. I catch around 30 finetooth sharks each year from the kayak and beach. They are a pain, tend to be very snappy. Usually hang around large schools of bait and are very agressive. There mouth is always U shaped and looks like they are frowning at you when you look at them . NO black marks on a finetooth.


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## BeachBumCSF (Nov 22, 2005)

Jolly Roger said:


> Just to get an ideal of the difference here are pics of the bottom and top sides of blacktips and bull sharks. Bum if you want some pics for your ID page let me know and I will send the full size ones to you.
> 
> Bottome side of a LIVE blacktip
> 
> ...


Look at the underside of the blacktip's pectoral and then look at the underside of the bull's pectoral fins. See how different the coloration is. Bull is more smoke or gray. This color is referred as dusky. The blacktip is solid or more closer to true black. Great pics JollyRoger. Thanks for sharing them.


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## mr.sharkytheshark (Nov 1, 2006)

skater said:


> i thought that this was a black tip but my bud says that its not. does anyone have any input?


blacktip every one thinks there fin tips a hevily tipped black some r but most are lightly tipped or only tipped on anal and tail


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## Quint (Oct 20, 2006)

Might be a a Baby Greatwhite. I have no idea really. Kinda looks like a spinner.


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## TomCat (Jan 6, 2006)

This has been a good discussion and opportunity for some of us to learn something about sharks. I can usually positively identify a hammerhead but the rest I just call sharks.


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## BeachBumCSF (Nov 22, 2005)

TomCat said:


> This has been a good discussion and opportunity for some of us to learn something about sharks. I can usually positively identify a hammerhead but the rest I just call sharks.


So you know how to ID the difference between a scalloped hammerhead and a great hammerhead?


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