 After Whitley's initial description, "C. tilstoni" was generally regarded as synonymous with "C. limbatus", the common blacktip shark.In the 1980s, additional morphological and life history data again favored the recognition of "C. tilstoni" as a separate species, which was eventually confirmed by allozyme studies performed by Shane Lavery and James Shaklee.Several molecular phylogenetic studies based on allozymes, mitochondrial DNA, and nuclear DNA have found that the Australian and common blacktip sharks form a closely related clade with the graceful shark ("C. amblyrhynchoides") and the smoothtooth blacktip shark ("C. leiodon").