Sealife guideThe leopard sharkTriakis semifasciata
Taxonomy
- Common name: Leopard shark
- French name: Requin léopard
- Spanish name: Tiburón leopardo
- Scientific name: Triakis semifasciata (Girard, 1855)
- Family name: Triakidae
- Order name: Carcharhiniformes
- Class name: Elasmobranchii
Description
The leopard shark is characterized by its distinctive spotted pattern, which is how it got its name. Its back is dark gray to brown, covered with dark, horseshoe-shaped spots, while its belly is white. Its body is sleek, with a relatively small head in comparison to its body.
The leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) © Ondřej Prosický | Dreamstime.com
As adults, leopard sharks typically reach a length between 4 and 6 feet with females generally being larger than males.
Range
The leopard shark frequents the coastal waters of North America, from Canada in the north to Baja California in Mexico to the south.
Habitat
The leopard shark lives in the shallow coastal waters of bays and estuaries, where it spends most of its time near the seafloor. The leopard shark can also be found at greater depths.
Diet
The leopard shark is primarily piscivorous, feeding on small fish, squid, rays and other marine organisms it finds near the seafloor. It is considered an opportunistic predator, meaning it easily adapts to different food sources depending on the availability of prey.
Reproduction
The leopard shark is an ovoviviparous species. After a gestation period of about 10 months, the female gives birth to litters of 10 to 30 baby sharks.
A group of leopard sharks swims close to the seafloor in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary © Yisi Li | Dreamstime.com
Within the same genus
Banded houndshark
(Triakis scyllium)
(Triakis scyllium)
Explore also
Spiny dogfish
(Squalus acanthias)
(Squalus acanthias)
Bull shark
(Carcharhinus leucas)
(Carcharhinus leucas)
Port Jackson shark
(Heterodontus portusjacksoni)
(Heterodontus portusjacksoni)
Broadnose sevengill shark
(Notorynchus cepedianus)
(Notorynchus cepedianus)
Silvertip shark
(Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
(Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
Pyjama shark
(Poroderma africanum)
(Poroderma africanum)
Coral catshark
(Atelomycterus marmoratus)
(Atelomycterus marmoratus)
Dark shyshark
(Haploblepharus pictus)
(Haploblepharus pictus)
Our latestUpdates
Monday, May 5th 2025
The California spiny lobster
The California spiny lobster has an elongated body and a hard exoskeleton, usually brown in color with yellow or orange patterns. The California spiny lobster inhabits the temperate waters along the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean, particularly those of California and the Gulf of California.
Monday, April 14th 2025
The bigeye trevally
The bigeye trevally has a silver-colored body with, as its name suggests, larger eyes compared to other trevally species. It is distinguished from other trevally species by the slightly yellowish color of its tail.
Monday, April 7th 2025
Best things to do in Miami
A flagship city of Florida, Miami is a dream destination where paradise beaches, a vibrant Latino atmosphere and a buzzing nightlife come together. With its year-round sunshine, iconic Art Deco architecture and dynamic cultural scene, Miami has everything to captivate travelers in search of escape.
Photo of the Day
Requin de récif des Caraibes
(Carcharhinus perezi)
(Carcharhinus perezi)
Copyright © 2007-2025 auxBulles.com - All rights reserved. Legal notices.Photo credits - Our partners