Broadfin Shark
Scientific name Lamiopsis temminckii
Adult size
Published maxima are 52.4 kg, 1.6 m for male or unsexed sharks, and 2.08 m for female sharks; these are not typical adult sizes. No directly measured body-depth figure is available.
- Weight
- No typical adult figure confirmed.
- Length
- No typical adult figure confirmed.
- Body depth
- No directly measured adult figure confirmed.
- Top speed swim
- No measured figure
- Lifespan
- Scientists still have not pinned down how long a Broadfin Shark can live. The best age clue is family timing. About 6.5 years may pass from one group of parent sharks to the next, while mothers carry pups for about 8 months and have small litters.
Broadfin Shark is a coastal northern Indian Ocean shark, with India and Bangladesh records used for true Lamiopsis temminckii after the Lamiopsis tephrodes split.
The range
Two regions, one species.
The broadfin shark doesn't live in one place. Across the map below, each region has its own pressures, prey, and politics — same biology, different worlds.
-
India
Northern Indian Ocean and northeastern Arabian Sea source context
Zootaxa redescription is based on northern Arabian Sea material and scopes true L. temminckii to the northern Indian Ocean.
Source ↗ -
Bangladesh
Northern Indian Ocean / Bay of Bengal source context
FishBase validates India and Bangladesh records for true L. temminckii after the taxonomy correction.
Source ↗
Daily life
What the broadfin shark does, day to day.
Diet, social behaviour, climate — the everyday biology that shapes how this species hunts, defends and survives.
-
Diet
It eats mostly crustaceans and bony fishes, with cephalopods in the diet too.
-
Social life
It is best introduced as a quiet inshore shark: coastal, live-bearing, and known from small litters rather than dramatic group attacks.
-
Climate
Tropical marine coastal water.
Wyld Trivia
Five questions. Most people get them wrong.
But you're not most people.
Tap to reveal.
-
Why does this shark need a taxonomy note?
Show me HideOlder records mixed more than one broadfin shark. Scientists later separated the Borneo Broadfin Shark, so this animal needs its own northern Indian Ocean identity.
-
Where does Broadfin Shark live?
Show me HideIt lives in warm coastal northern Indian Ocean water, especially around India and Bangladesh.
-
How big is it?
Show me HideMaximum size context reaches 2.08 m for females and 52.4 kg by published weight, but those are upper-end scale facts, not everyday adults.
-
How tall is a shark?
Show me HideFor a shark, the useful vertical clue is body depth rather than shoulder height. The redescription describes a stout body, but it does not establish a representative adult body-depth number.
-
What does it eat?
Show me HideIts recorded meals are mostly crustaceans and bony fishes, with cephalopods too: a real coastal predator without monster-shark hype.
The terrain
Where the broadfin shark thrives.
Every animal is built for some places more than others. These are the ground, hours and weather where this species shows its best — and its worst.
Ground
- Coastal inshore water Excels
- Tropical marine Excels
- Continental shelf Strong
- Estuary Average
- Deep ocean Average
- Freshwater Avoids
- Dry land Avoids
- Forest Avoids
- Alpine Avoids
Hours
- Day Strong
- Dawn Average
- Dusk Average
- Night Average
Weather
- Tropical marine Excels
- Subtropical marine Strong
- Warm ocean Strong
- Cold water Avoids
- Freshwater Avoids
Five things you didn't know about the broadfin shark.
Cited biology that shapes how the broadfin shark feeds, defends, survives.
-
Broadfin Shark is Lamiopsis temminckii, a requiem shark in the family Carcharhinidae. Source ↗
-
Modern taxonomy separates true Broadfin Shark from the Borneo Broadfin Shark, so the two animals should not be mixed together. Source ↗
-
Broadfin Shark belongs to warm coastal northern Indian Ocean water, including India and Bangladesh records. Source ↗
-
Broadfin Sharks have a moderately stout body, moderately long pectoral fins and nearly same-sized dorsal fins. Source ↗
-
A biology study measured 214 Broadfin Sharks from tiny newborn-sized pups to long adult-sized animals. Source ↗
About the broadfin shark
Where the broadfin shark sits on the tree of life.
-
Class
Elasmobranchii
Sharks and rays — cartilaginous fish with flexible bodies and powerful senses.
-
Order
Carcharhiniformes
A group of related families — Carcharhiniformes.
-
Family
Carcharhinidae
A family of related species — Carcharhinidae.
-
Species
Lamiopsis temminckii
Broadfin Shark — the species this page is about.
Broadfin Shark
Every fact, cited.
Biology cited on this page comes from peer-reviewed zoology and the major species databases. Click through for the underlying study, dataset or assessment.
- GBIF Backbone · gbif.org
- FishBase · fishbase.se
- FWS species profile · fws.gov
- Zootaxa redescription · mapress.com
- Biological observations article · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Sharks & Rays India profile · sharksandraysofindia.org
