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Glite Dictionary
blacktip shark

blacktip shark

5.5
A small shark with black tips on its fins that lives in shallow water
  • noun
  • /ˈblæktɪp ʃɑrk/
translation icon : tiburón de punta negra
  • The blacktip shark is easily recognizable due to the distinctive black tips on its fins.
  • blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus
  • distribution of the blacktip shark

Examples

  • The Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, and the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, were the most common species captured with either longlines or gillnets.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Blacktip sharks are seen migrating along the southeast Florida coast.

  • Kajiura and his colleagues are the first to document the density of blacktip sharks in the region.

Synonyms

shark
vsblacktip shark
664 1.0

A large sea fish with sharp teeth that eats other animals

is a small coastal species with black fin tips rather than a large ocean predator
Carcharhinus limbatus
vsblacktip shark
  • Specialized
9.9

A shark with black tips on its fins that lives in warm coastal waters

serves as the common everyday name instead of the formal scientific label

How Dangerous

tiger shark
5 3.9
bull shark
  • Specialized
7 6.7
requiem shark
  • Specialized
9.1
blue shark
4 4.5
blacktip shark
5.5

Surface Forms

blacktip shark singular
blacktip sharks plural

Morphology

blacktip + shark

The name is compositionally transparent: 'blacktip' can be parsed as 'black' + 'tip', so 'blacktip shark' naturally describes a shark with black tips on its fins. Even if 'blacktip' as a single lexical item is unfamiliar, a B1 learner who knows 'black', 'tip', and 'shark' can infer the intended meaning; descriptive color+part animal names are common cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Blacktip shark — The name blacktip shark comes from the dark black tips on the shark's fins that are easy to see. So today it means a small shark often found in shallow water and known for those black-tipped fins.