Marine life  /  Sharks & rays  /  Galapagos bullhead shark
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Species entry

Galapagos bullhead shark

Heterodontus quoyi

A small nocturnal bottom shark endemic to the Galapagos and the Peruvian coast.

Size
To 60 cm
Depth
5–25 m
Habitat
Rocky ledges and crevices, nocturnal
Active
Night
Range
Eastern Pacific
Rarity
Galapagos Islands
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
SP-01
galapagos bullhead shark · full body · habitat
4:3 · min 2400px

A small, slow, bottom-living shark on islands otherwise dived for large pelagics, and the most easily overlooked animal in this roster. Under a metre, blunt-headed, with a pig-like snout and a spine at the front of each dorsal fin.

Nocturnal. By day it lies in crevices and under ledges, often wedged in far enough that only the tail shows. It feeds on molluscs and crustaceans, which the broad rear teeth crush rather than cut.

Endemic to the Galapagos and the Peruvian coast. Records are patchy and the species is poorly known, so a photographed sighting with a depth and a site is worth logging carefully.

Where to find:

LocationRarity Best monthsDepthHabitat
Galapagos Islands Ecuador editorial estimate
4 stars of 5, two or three a season
Year-round
5–25 m
Rocky ledges and crevices, nocturnal

Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.

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