The dive centre identified it as a silky shark, a dark grey species with darker tips on its dorsal fins that is common in Canary waters. Some viewers thought it looked more like a Galápagos shark, a slow-breeding and threatened species known for coming in close to divers.
Silky sharks live in warm water across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and the Canaries sit well inside their range, so the sighting is less unusual than some reports suggested. They are also very rarely a danger to people. The International Shark Attack File records only three confirmed unprovoked bites by silky sharks anywhere in the world, none of them fatal.
The shark most divers come to Lanzarote hoping to see is the angel shark, or angelote. It is critically endangered across most of its old range, and the Canaries are one of its last strongholds. Puerto del Carmen is one of the better places to find one, with juveniles around in July and August and adults from November to April.
