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Galapagos
shark
Carcharhinus galapagensis
Length: Up to 12 ft (maximum reported
in Hawaii, 9.8 ft)
Description: Brownish gray on dorsal
surface; white underside; trailing edge of tail is
dusky, but not black
Food: Eats bottom fishes and
cephalopods
Habitat: Mostly found in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Blacktip reef shark
(Hawaiian: mano pa'ele)
Carcharhinus melanopterus
Length: Up to 6 ft, generally under 5
ft
Description: Light brown with large
black marks on the first dorsal fin and lower tail tips;
no interdorsal ridge
Food: Eats small reef fishes and
invertebrates
Habitat: Can be seen very close to the
coastline and coral reef edge; found from the surface to
100 ft
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Gray reef shark
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Length: Up to 8 ft, generally under 6
ft (maximum reported in Hawaii, 6.2 ft)
Description: Gray with a slight white
streak on the back edge of the dorsal fin and an
easy-to-see black margin on the trailing edge of the
tail; no interdorsal ridge
Food: Eats bony fishes, cephalopods and
crustaceans
Habitat: Hawaiian records show caught
from surface to 900 ft but most abundant at 320 ft; more
common in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; tends to
prefer reef areas with rugged terrain and strong
currents
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Bignose shark
Carcharhinus altimus
Length: Up to 9.5 ft, average 6 ft
Description: Gray, large shark with
prominent nasal flaps and high interdorsal ridge
Food: Eats deepwater fishes (including
sharks and rays), cephalopods
Habitat: From 88 to 1,200 ft
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Blacktip shark
Carcharhinus limbatus
Length: Up to 8 ft
Description: Gray with black edges on
dorsal and pectoral fins; a pointed snout
Food: Eats octopus, squid, bony fishes,
occasionally crustaceans
Description: In Hawaii, caught at depth
of 43-210 ft; seen in many areas including Kaneohe Bay
and Midway Atoll
Habitat: In Hawaii, caught at depths of
43-210 ft; pups seen from Kaneohe Bay to Midway Atoll
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Sandbar shark
Carcharhinus plumbeus
Length: Up to 8 ft, generally under 6
ft
Description: Gray or light tan; high
dorsal fin, strong interdorsal ridge; and no distinct
marking
Food: Eats small reef fishes, octopus
and squid, crustaceans, mollusks
Habitat: From 29-912 ft; females cruise
in shallower areas - average 223 ft
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Tiger shark
(Hawaiian: niuhi)
Galeocerdo cuvier
Length: Up to 18 ft or more, generally
under 14 ft
Description: Broadly rounded snout;
distinctive curved serrated teeth; strong spotting
pattern in young sharks, turning to stripes
Food: Eats wide variety of marine
animals, carrion – has been called “garbage can of the
sea”
Habitat: From the surface to 1,200 ft;
when in coastal waters, tracked sharks swim close to
reef drop-offs at depth of 195 to 260 ft
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Scalloped hammerhead
shark (Hawaiian:
mano kihikihi)
Sphyrna lewini
Length: Up to 14 ft, generally under 7
ft
Description: Gray with flattened
hammer-like head with a central indentation
Food: Eats reef fishes, sharks and
rays, cephalopods, crustaceans
Habitat: Adults live off shore and come
into shallower waters of Hilo Bay, Kaneohe Bay, Waimea
Bay and other areas in Hawaii to pup –– juveniles
tracked in Kaneohe Bay stay near the bottom in deeper
areas
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Smooth hammerhead shark (Hawaiian: mano
kihikihi)
Sphyrna zygaena
Length: Up
to 13 f, generally under 8 ft
Description: Gray with a flattened
hammer-like head without median indentation
Food: Eats bony fishes, small sharks
and rays, cephalopods, crustaceans.
Habitat: In Hawaii, juveniles have been
caught at depth of 108-223 ft
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Whitetip reef shark
(Hawaiian: mano lalakea)
Triaenodon obesus
Length: Up to 7 f, generally under 5 ft
Description: Gray; slightly flat-headed
with small white tips on the tops of the first and
second dorsal and tail fins
Food: Eats reef fishes, octopuses,
crustaceans.
Habitat: At depths of 26-131 ft near
coral reefs; seen resting in caves, sometimes for
extended periods
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