CreatureData

Grey shark

Carcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)

Status not recordedsharks and rays

The grey shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) is a species in the family Carcharhinidae, order Carcharhiniformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the grey shark

Weight
Not recorded
Length
up to 3.07 m
Lifespan
Not recorded
Longest recorded lifespan
34 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Age at maturity
15.5 years – 25 years
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the grey shark live?

Not recorded

Is the grey shark endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the grey shark classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classElasmobranchii
  4. orderCarcharhiniformes
  5. familyCarcharhinidae
  6. genusCarcharhinus
  7. SpeciesCarcharhinus obscurus (Lesueur, 1818)

Synonyms Carcharhinus iranzae, Carcharhinus obscurella, Carcharias macrurus, Carcharinus iranzae, Carcharinus obscurus, Chimaera obscura, Eulamia obscura, Galeolamna eblis, Galeolamna greyi, Galeolamna macrurus, Prionodon obvelatus, Squalus obscurus

Other names and names in other languages (43)
  • Black whalerEnglish
  • Black whaler sharkEnglish
  • Bronze whalerEnglish
  • Brown sharkEnglish
  • Common whaler sharkEnglish
  • Dusky sharkEnglish
  • Dusky whalerEnglish
  • River whalerEnglish
  • Slender whaler sharkEnglish
  • Whaler sharkEnglish
  • GryshaaiAfrikaans
  • žralok velrybářCzech
  • MørkhajDanish
  • DunkelhaiGerman
  • Σκοτεινόχρωμος καρχαρίνοςGreek
  • JaquetónSpanish
  • sumuhaiFinnish
  • EhouatagboFon
  • requin obscurFrench
  • כריש עפרוריHebrew
  • Squalo brunoItalian
  • ドタブカJapanese
  • 흑상어Korean
  • baltapelekis pilkasis ryklysLithuanian
  • SchemerhaaiDutch
  • żarłacz ciemnoskóryPolish
  • Tubarão-faquetaPortuguese
  • Тёмная акулаRussian
  • ปลาฉลามสีหมึกThai
  • esmer köpekbalığıTurkish
  • 大沙Chinese
  • düsterer HaiGerman
  • SchwarzhaiGerman
  • jaquetón loboSpanish
  • tiburón amarilloSpanish
  • tiburón areneroSpanish
  • tiburón gambusoSpanish
  • Requin de sableFrench
  • Requin sombreFrench
  • Сумеречная акулаRussian
  • 灰色白眼鮫Chinese
  • 灰色真鯊Chinese
  • 灰真鯊(暗體真鯊)Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the grey shark

Other species in the same genus Carcharhinus.

VU, Vulnerable
Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)

Bull shark

Carcharhinus leucas

Carcharhinidae

VU, Vulnerable
Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis)

Silky shark

Carcharhinus falciformis

Carcharhinidae

CompareGrey shark vs Bull sharkGrey shark vs Oceanic whitetip sharkGrey shark vs Blacktip reef sharkGrey shark vs Grey reef shark

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the grey shark?

The grey shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) belongs to the family Carcharhinidae in the order Carcharhiniformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Grey shark (Carcharhinus obscurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/carcharhinus-obscurus

MLA

“Grey shark (Carcharhinus obscurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/carcharhinus-obscurus.

BibTeX
@misc{carcharhinus_obscurus_2026,
  title = {Grey shark (Carcharhinus obscurus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/carcharhinus-obscurus},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}