The silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), also known by numerous names such as blackspot shark, grey whaler shark, olive shark, ridgeback shark, sickle shark, sickle-shaped shark and sickle silk shark, is a species of requiem shark, in the family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, and can be found around the world in tropical waters. A scientific description of the silky shark was first published by the German biologists Johannes Müller and Jakob Henle under the name Carcharias (Prionodon) falciformis, in their 1839 Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen.