Broadfin Shark
Scientific name Lamiopsis temminckii
Adult size
- Weight
- 52.4 kg
- Length
- 1.6 m
- Body depth
- 0.165-0.222 m
- Top speed swim
- 22 km/h
- 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 meHideOlder 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 meHideIt lives in warm coastal northern Indian Ocean water, especially around India and Bangladesh.
How big is it?
Show meHideMaximum 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 meHideFor a shark, the useful vertical clue is body depth rather than shoulder height. Broadfin Shark's redescription gives trunk height as 10.3-13.9% of total length.
What does it eat?
Show meHideIts 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 waterExcels
- Tropical marineExcels
- Continental shelfStrong
- EstuaryAverage
- Deep oceanAverage
- FreshwaterAvoids
- Dry landAvoids
- ForestAvoids
- AlpineAvoids
Hours
- DayStrong
- DawnAverage
- DuskAverage
- NightAverage
Weather
- Tropical marineExcels
- Subtropical marineStrong
- Warm oceanStrong
- Cold waterAvoids
- FreshwaterAvoids
Five things you didn't know about the broadfin shark.
Cited biology that shapes how the broadfin shark hunts, fights, 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 ↗
A redescription measured trunk height at 10.3-13.9% of total length, giving this shark a real source-backed body-depth clue instead of a guessed shape number. 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
