Whitetip reef shark

Photo: Craig Fujii · CC BY-NC-ND

Whitetip reef sharks rest on the sand floor of the cathedral chamber during the day, lying motionless in small groups of 3 to 8 individuals in one of their characteristic daytime resting aggregations. Unlike most sharks, whitetips can pump water over their gills without swimming and are frequently observed stacked against each other on sandy ledges. They are obligate hunters of reef fish, octopus, and crustaceans, hunting almost exclusively at night and relying on electroreception and a highly developed lateral line to pursue prey into crevices too deep for other predators.