What shark is this?

rogeringebo · 12th May 2007, 03:50

Hi all!
Thanx for your input!
The pictures were taken just off Koh Tao (Gulf of Thailand) at a divesite called Chumphon Pinnacle.
The dive was just the best in years....dropped down the line and under a little swimthrough on the bottom at 30m...then we saw the first sharks coming close...one came so close that I had to gently push him off with my camera...after about 5 min I see something behind the sharks....a Whale shark!!!...It spent the rest of the dive with us....just magic....not one slow second in 1 hour of diving.The smaller sharks followed the big guy for a bit but later took of to deeper waters.
These Grey/Bulls come here on allmost every dive but no one so far have convinced me what they really are...I would love to know...They are all in the 1.8-3m range. Some say they have seen bigger ones. They are quite stocky and swim with great pondus. Not like the slender Black/White tips..

Cheers
Roger

teksimple · 12th May 2007, 04:45

Ahem. An experienced vote from a true fish geek and lurking forum member...

if encountered diving I would tend to treat this critter with the deference due a bull shark. The stocky body, small eyes and relatively blunt head remind me of certain close diving "companions" I have had at Shark Reef in Fiji

The nice silhouette shot above certainly suggests a bull shark, too. As for me, I think an extended dive trip hanging out with these same denizens is the only way to know for sure

Erik · 12th May 2007, 06:39

If it can help with ID, I got a series of videoclips lying about somewhere on these guys that I made a few years ago, same dive-site... about 6-7 different bull/grey reef's. From front, behind, side, two-three together etc.
They swim around darn fast...

I always got the impression they were grey reef's (as bull's said to be BIG and scary), similar to what I have been seeing on sipadan and sometimes on HMS repulse. Although I really don't know or care that much about crits

So if it could help, I can dig up that video...

rogeringebo · 12th May 2007, 07:47

Please do!

Rodge

silent running · 12th May 2007, 09:19

Quote: (Originally Posted by Dave Faye)

Grey Reef. Nose is to pointed for a bull even a juvie bull. Eyes are also a give away that its not a bull.

Where did you take the pic?

Hello DF, nose is too pointed? The beast's eyes seem very close to the nose and they are very small, how much smaller could they be? Then there's the very triangular dorsal fin with a wide base, nearly as wide as it is tall. And it has a very full, stocky body. I'd bet money it's a bull.

Very glad to hear you saw it in Thai waters Roger, a good sign for the overall health of that marine environment. Were there any OC divers in the water on that dive? -Andy

shell-back · 12th May 2007, 17:01

Just showed the pic to a Zoo dude here that cares for our sharks
, he says Grey reef based on the front of the head and the silhouetted shot from below , stating the squared nose of a juvy Bull would be perhaps more pronounced with less of a conical shape, as pups he says they have very short, flat business end from the get go .
for what its worth.

sounds like a awesome dive anyway..

Mephisto26 · 13th May 2007, 18:51

Thats a bullshark here in Mexico

rogeringebo · 14th May 2007, 05:30

I must say they look very much alike......
Maybe the Mexican shark has a stockier body by the dorsal fin?

Rodge

silent running · 14th May 2007, 06:59

Quote: (Originally Posted by rogeringebo)

I must say they look very much alike......
Maybe the Mexican shark has a stockier body by the dorsal fin?

Rodge

Yes Rodge, it's a bigger/fatter specimen, but I think it's clearly the same species.

Also the reef/blacktip/silvertip and silky sharks I've seen have thin, gradually tapered tails. The one in your photo and the Mexican specimen both have very thick bodies all the way back to the anal fin. Also, from the shot underneath the beast looks thick all the way back and fairly blunt nosed compared to a reef shark. And take a good look at the proportions of first dorsal fin in both photos, dictinctive to bulls, they look virtually identical to me...

undrh2o · 14th May 2007, 22:17

Another vote here for Bull after reading the Queensland guide referenced earlier the Grey reef has it's first dorsal fin starting directly after the pectoral fin. The Bull has the dorsal fin starting towards the middle of the pectoral fin - as does both the Mexican and the first photo.

12th May 2007, 04:45	#22 (permalink)
teksimple Enlightened Alpinist Current Rebreather/s: MK 15.X Other Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Back in Hawaii Posts: 503	Re: What shark is this? Ahem. An experienced vote from a true fish geek and lurking forum member... if encountered diving I would tend to treat this critter with the deference due a bull shark. The stocky body, small eyes and relatively blunt head remind me of certain close diving "companions" I have had at Shark Reef in Fiji The nice silhouette shot above certainly suggests a bull shark, too. As for me, I think an extended dive trip hanging out with these same denizens is the only way to know for sure __________________ ---- _____________ "I don't know the percentage of the Internet that's valid, do you? Jesus, it's scary." - Hunter S. Thompson Last edited by teksimple : 12th May 2007 at 04:49.
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12th May 2007, 06:39	#23 (permalink)
Erik no bubble maker Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Evolution Megalodon Sport Kiss Classic Kiss MK 15.X Other CCR Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Thailand Posts: 21	Re: What shark is this? If it can help with ID, I got a series of videoclips lying about somewhere on these guys that I made a few years ago, same dive-site... about 6-7 different bull/grey reef's. From front, behind, side, two-three together etc. They swim around darn fast... I always got the impression they were grey reef's (as bull's said to be BIG and scary), similar to what I have been seeing on sipadan and sometimes on HMS repulse. Although I really don't know or care that much about crits So if it could help, I can dig up that video...
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12th May 2007, 07:47	#24 (permalink)
rogeringebo Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Pelagian Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Classic Kiss Pelagian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stockholm Sweden Posts: 702	Re: What shark is this? Please do! Rodge
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12th May 2007, 09:19	#25 (permalink)
silent running Mature mouth breather Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: U.S.A. Brooklyn, New York Posts: 1,832	Re: What shark is this? Quote: (Originally Posted by Dave Faye) Grey Reef. Nose is to pointed for a bull even a juvie bull. Eyes are also a give away that its not a bull. Where did you take the pic? Hello DF, nose is too pointed? The beast's eyes seem very close to the nose and they are very small, how much smaller could they be? Then there's the very triangular dorsal fin with a wide base, nearly as wide as it is tall. And it has a very full, stocky body. I'd bet money it's a bull. Very glad to hear you saw it in Thai waters Roger, a good sign for the overall health of that marine environment. Were there any OC divers in the water on that dive? -Andy
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12th May 2007, 17:01	#26 (permalink)
shell-back I do all my own stunts Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Ray Azimuth Other SCR Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Ray Azimuth Other SCR Home Build Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: middle of US Posts: 475	Re: What shark is this? Just showed the pic to a Zoo dude here that cares for our sharks , he says Grey reef based on the front of the head and the silhouetted shot from below , stating the squared nose of a juvy Bull would be perhaps more pronounced with less of a conical shape, as pups he says they have very short, flat business end from the get go . for what its worth. sounds like a awesome dive anyway.. __________________ The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge. ----Daniel Boorstin Billy Beal SDITDI IT #3507 Rebreather World FIGJAM commitee member Last edited by shell-back : 12th May 2007 at 17:07.
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14th May 2007, 05:30	#28 (permalink)
rogeringebo Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Pelagian Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Classic Kiss Pelagian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stockholm Sweden Posts: 702	Re: What shark is this? I must say they look very much alike...... Maybe the Mexican shark has a stockier body by the dorsal fin? Rodge
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14th May 2007, 06:59	#29 (permalink)
silent running Mature mouth breather Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: U.S.A. Brooklyn, New York Posts: 1,832	Re: What shark is this? Quote: (Originally Posted by rogeringebo) I must say they look very much alike...... Maybe the Mexican shark has a stockier body by the dorsal fin? Rodge Yes Rodge, it's a bigger/fatter specimen, but I think it's clearly the same species. Also the reef/blacktip/silvertip and silky sharks I've seen have thin, gradually tapered tails. The one in your photo and the Mexican specimen both have very thick bodies all the way back to the anal fin. Also, from the shot underneath the beast looks thick all the way back and fairly blunt nosed compared to a reef shark. And take a good look at the proportions of first dorsal fin in both photos, dictinctive to bulls, they look virtually identical to me...
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14th May 2007, 22:17	#30 (permalink)
undrh2o Chris Miller Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 199	Re: What shark is this? Another vote here for Bull after reading the Queensland guide referenced earlier the Grey reef has it's first dorsal fin starting directly after the pectoral fin. The Bull has the dorsal fin starting towards the middle of the pectoral fin - as does both the Mexican and the first photo.
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