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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