The oceanic whitetip shark is one of the most widely ranging sharks, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters.
A relatively large shark, they can grow up to 4 meters (13 feet) long, although most individuals are smaller than that. The oceanic whitetip shark gets its name from the white tips of its fins, which are distinctly rounded, rather than pointed like in many other shark species.
They are a migratory species, traveling throughout the year in search of warmer waters and food. As a species that is always on the move, the oceanic whitetip shark is an opportunistic feeder, eating a variety of bony fishes including dolphinfish, marlin, and tuna, as well as sea turtles, stingrays, seabirds, crustaceans, and squid.
Though typically oceanic whitetip sharks live solitary lives, they will come together in groups to hunt schools of fish and frequently are part of ″feeding frenzies,″ where mixed groups of sharks feed on a single source of prey at a time. Like other sharks, the oceanic whitetip shark detects its prey using special electroreceptor organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini, which let the shark sense electrical fields given off by other species.