Bull shark
Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1839)
The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. It is classified in the class Elasmobranchii and the genus Carcharhinus, and its scientific name carries the authority (Valenciennes, 1839).
Quick facts about the bull shark
Other English names for the bull shark include Cub shark, River shark, River whaler, Estuary shark and Zambezi shark. In its global assessment, the IUCN Red List places the bull shark in the Vulnerable (VU) category, which is a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 4 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 27 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastal, freshwater, riverinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 10 years – 18 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the bull shark
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the bull shark live?
Not recorded
What is the bull shark?
The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. It is known for its aggressive nature, and presence mainly in warm, shallow brackish and freshwater systems including estuaries and (usually) lower reaches of rivers. Their aggressive nature has led to ongoing shark-culling efforts near beaches to protect beachgoers, which is one of the causes of bull shark populations continuing to decrease. Bull sharks are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
Bull sharks are euryhaline and can thrive in both salt and fresh water. They are known to travel far up rivers, and have been known to travel up the Mississippi River as far as Alton, Illinois, about 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) from the ocean, but few freshwater interactions with humans have been recorded. Larger-sized bull sharks are responsible for a large part of nearshore shark attacks, and may be responsible for many attacks involving unidentified species.
Unlike the river sharks of the genus Glyphis, bull sharks are not true freshwater sharks, despite their ability to survive in freshwater habitats.
This shark appears in the image of the 2000 colones banknote from Costa Rica.
From the Wikipedia article “Bull shark” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bull_shark&oldid=1378453392), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the bull shark endangered?
The bull shark is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the bull shark classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classElasmobranchii
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familyCarcharhinidae
- genusCarcharhinus
- SpeciesCarcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes, 1839)
Synonyms Carcharhinus azureus, Carcharhinus nicaraguensis, Carcharhinus vanrooyeni, Carcharhinus zambezensis, Carcharias azureus, Carcharias leucas, Carcharias leucas, Carcharias spenceri, Carcharias zambesensis, Carcharias zambezensis, Carcharicus leucas, Carcharinus leucas, Carcharinus zambesensis, Carcharinus zambezensis, Eulamia nicaraguensis, Galeolamna bogimba, Galeolamna greyi mckaili, Galeolamna leucas, Galeolamna leucas, Galeolamna mckaili, Prionodon platyodon, Squalus obtusus, Squalus platyodon
Other names and names in other languages (141)
- Cub sharkEnglish
- Estuary sharkEnglish
- Estuary whaler sharkEnglish
- Hervey Bay whaler sharkEnglish
- Lake Nicaragua sharkEnglish
- River sharkEnglish
- River whalerEnglish
- River whaler sharkEnglish
- Swan river sharkEnglish
- Swan river whaler sharkEnglish
- Van Rooyen's sharkEnglish
- Zambezi sharkEnglish
- BulhaaiAfrikaans
- Van RooyenshaaiAfrikaans
- ZambesihaaiAfrikaans
- قرش الثورArabic
- قرش زامبيزيArabic
- قرش نيكاراغواArabic
- قرش مصبات الانهارArabic
- Ngan.gubck
- Акула-быкBelarusian
- Бича акулаBulgarian
- Zambezi ajkulaBosnian
- tauró camúsCatalan
- 大沙Chinese
- 低鳍真鲨Chinese
- 公牛白眼鮫Chinese
- 公牛白眼鲛Chinese
- 尼加拉瓜真鯊Chinese
- 尼加拉瓜真鲨Chinese
- 白真鲨Chinese
- žralok bělavýCzech
- TyrehajDanish
- TyrehajenDanish
- StierhaiGerman
- BullenhaiGerman
- Gemeine GrundhaiGerman
- Gemeiner GrundhaiGerman
- SambesihaiGerman
- ΤαυροκαρχαρίαςGreek
- TaŭrŝarkoEsperanto
- XmoaSpanish
- Cabeza de bateaSpanish
- GayarreSpanish
- MadrecazónSpanish
- Tiburón chatoSpanish
- Tiburón ñatoSpanish
- Tiburon sardaSpanish
- tiburón sardaSpanish
- tiburón toroSpanish
- Tömpnina-hallhaiEstonian
- KoosehPersian
- گاوکوسهPersian
- Sag MahiPersian
- NkwégnanFang
- HärkähaiFinnish
- QioFijian
- qio tovutoFijian
- EhouatagboFon
- Requin chasseurFrench
- Requin boule-dogueFrench
- Requin bouledogueFrench
- requin du ZambèzeFrench
- requin-bouledogueFrench
- TarbhsiorcIrish
- Tiburón touroGalician
- Piraroto akãmbévaGuarani
- כריש שוריHebrew
- Morski pas bikCroatian
- BikacápaHungarian
- Ցուլ շնաձուկArmenian
- Hiu bantengIndonesian
- NautháfurIcelandic
- ZambiItalian
- CarcarinoItalian
- Squalo baleniere degli estuariItalian
- Squalo baleniere del FitzroyItalian
- Squalo cuccioloItalian
- Squalo d'acqua dolceItalian
- Squalo dal naso a palaItalian
- Squalo del Lago NicaraguaItalian
- Squalo dello SwanItalian
- Squalo dello ZambesiItalian
- Squalo di fiumeItalian
- Squalo di van RooyenItalian
- squalo leucaItalian
- オオメジロザメ／ウシザメJapanese
- ウシザメJapanese
- オオメジロザメJapanese
- シロナカーJapanese
- Oomejiro zameJapanese
- Ushi zameJapanese
- Hius buasJavanese
- Cucut bekemanJavanese
- Trey chhlarmKhmer
- 황소상어Korean
- Bukasnukis ryklysLithuanian
- BorilohaMalagasy
- ബുൾ ഷാർക്ക്Malayalam
- Pattamómnk
- JerungMalay
- Jerung sapiMalay
- YuMalay
- Yu bekengMalay
- Yu ganasMalay
- Yu garangMalay
- OksehaiNorwegian Bokmål
- stierhaaiDutch
- Atlantische grondhaaiDutch
- Zambezi haaiDutch
- Ngawoonkoonyh
- Żarłacz tępogłowyPolish
- سنڈا شارکWestern Panjabi
- Cação-fidalgoPortuguese
- Cação-flamengoPortuguese
- Marracho touroPortuguese
- Sicuri-brancoPortuguese
- Tubarão-buldoguePortuguese
- tubarão-cabeça-chataPortuguese
- tubarão-do-zambezePortuguese
- tubarão-touroPortuguese
- Тупорылая акулаRussian
- Серая бычья акулаRussian
- MadjibundiSena
- Žralok belavýSlovak
- MalieSamoan
- Бик ајкулаSerbian
- Pas trupanSerbian
- TjurhajSwedish
- ปลาฉลามหัวบาตรThai
- Chararm Hua-bartThai
- PatingFilipino
- Boğa köpek balığıTurkish
- Акула-бикUkrainian
- Macipunderoot
- Cá Mập lơ - caVietnamese
- Cá mập bò mắt trắngVietnamese
- Nganguwmt
- Gaïdé guedjWolof
- 公牛鯊Chinese
- 低鰭真鯊(公牛真鯊)Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the bull shark
Other species in the same genus Carcharhinus.
Oceanic whitetip shark
Carcharhinus longimanus
Blacktip reef shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
Grey reef shark
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Blacktip shark
Carcharhinus limbatus
Silky shark
Carcharhinus falciformis
Bignose shark
Carcharhinus altimus
CompareBull shark vs Oceanic whitetip sharkBull shark vs Blacktip reef sharkBull shark vs Grey reef sharkBull shark vs Blacktip shark
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the bull shark?
The bull shark is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup. It belongs to the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes.
What is the scientific name of the bull shark?
The scientific name of the bull shark is Carcharhinus leucas, placing it in the genus Carcharhinus.
Is the bull shark endangered?
The bull shark is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment. Vulnerable is a threatened category.
Who named the bull shark and when?
The scientific name Carcharhinus leucas carries the authority (Valenciennes, 1839).
What are other names for the bull shark?
Other English names for the bull shark are Cub shark, River shark, River whaler, Estuary shark and Zambezi shark.
What class does the bull shark belong to?
The bull shark belongs to the class Elasmobranchii, within the phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits · CC BY 4.0 · 1.0-2022-06-17
Mull, C.G., Pacoureau, N., Pardo, S.A. et al. (2022) Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits and abundance time-series. Scientific Data 9: 559. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01655-1. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6656525 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bull-shark
“Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bull-shark.
@misc{bull_shark_2026,
title = {Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bull-shark},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}