---
title: "Witpuntrifhaai"
description: "Triaenodon obesus — Vissen. The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/whitetip-reef-shark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Witpuntrifhaai

> Triaenodon obesus — Vissen. The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae.

- Scientific name: *Triaenodon obesus*
- Category: `fish` (Vissen)
- Habitats: `sea` (Zee en kust)
- iNaturalist observations: 6610
- Wikidata: [Q695344](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q695344)
- iNaturalist taxon: [52314](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52314)

## Names

- en: Whitetip Reef Shark
- de: Weißspitzen-Riffhai
- es: Cazón coralero trompacorta
- fr: Requin-corail
- nl: Witpuntrifhaai
- pt: Tubarão-de-pontas-brancas-de-recife

## Countries with the most observations

EC (1065), US (473), AU (438), ID (401), MV (326), NC (326), PA (315), CR (285), MX (244), FJ (231), PF (113), PW (112)

## Summary

The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae. It is the only extant species of genus Triaenodon. A small shark that does not usually exceed 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in length, this species is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, as well as tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval eyes with vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. One of the most common sharks found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs, the whitetip reef shark occurs as far west as South Africa and as far east as Central America. It is typically found on or near…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitetip_reef_shark

## Photo

![Witpuntrifhaai](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/whitetip-reef-shark/medium.jpg)

Photo: lallen · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70065856

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/whitetip-reef-shark?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).