Sharks & Dogfish

How to tell them apart

One identification cue for each species, from its profile. Open a profile for the full description, size and range.

Bonnethead Shark

It is small as sharks go, and the rounded head is the clean giveaway that separates it from every other shark on the flat.

Spiny Dogfish

Naming note: the dogfish of the northern Pacific, including the US West Coast, were re-evaluated in 2010 and are now treated as a separate species, the Pacific spiny dogfish (*Squalus suckleyi*); in US waters *Squalus acanthias*, the name used here, now means the Atlantic fish (Wikipedia).

Shortfin Mako

The vivid blue, pointed nose and needle teeth distinguish them from other sharks.

Thresher Shark

Threshers have a stout body, small mouth, and an extraordinarily long upper tail lobe nearly as long as the body - the unmistakable feature.

Blacktip Shark

Blacktips are gray to bronze above and white below with black tips on most fins (though the anal fin is usually plain), a pointed snout, and a slim, athletic body.

Sandbar Shark

Sandbar sharks are gray to brown above and pale below, heavy-bodied, with a notably tall, upright first dorsal fin set well forward - the key feature.

Blue Shark

Blue sharks are unmistakably brilliant indigo-blue above, fading to white below, with a slim body, a long pointed snout, and very long scythe-like pectoral fins.

Great Hammerhead Shark

The head (cephalofoil) is wide and nearly straight across the front with a shallow central notch, unlike the scalloped hammerhead's strongly indented, scalloped edge.

Bull Shark

Look for a heavy, thick body, a short, broad, bluntly rounded snout, and small eyes. It is gray above and white below, with a large triangular first dorsal fin, a much smaller second dorsal, and no ridge between the two dorsals.

Lemon Shark

The best field mark is its two dorsal fins of nearly equal size, which few other sharks show.

Nurse Shark

The giveaway is a pair of fleshy barbels hanging below the snout, just in front of a small mouth.

Tiger Shark

Look for the broad, blunt, almost square snout and a heavy body that is gray to brownish above and pale below.

Spinner Shark

Look for a gray to bronze back, white belly, and a distinct white band along each flank. Fins are dark-tipped, and the key tell is a black tip on the anal fin - blacktip sharks leave that fin unmarked.