Weird Shark Names

Due to the fact that their are over 500 species of sharks, scientists have to get creative in naming the sharks, which leads to some odd names. Here's a few of my favorites.


Gummy Shark: Mustelus antarcticus

The gummy shark gets its name from its mouth. Due to the fact that it has tiny, plate-like teeth, it looks like it has no teeth - only gums! It resides in Australia and is also known as the Australian Smooth Hound. It can grow to about 1.8 meters/6 feet.





Pocket Shark: Mollisquama parini

The pocket shark is a small, rare, deep-water species that resides in the southeastern pacific. So little is known about it that we don't know for sure how big it gets.








Sleeper Sharks: family Somniosidae

The sleeper shark family consists of many deep-water sharks that live around the world, including the Greenland Shark and the Pacific Sleeper Shark. These sharks are scavengers that feed on the sea life that dies and sinks to the bottom of the ocean, and they can grow to be about 6 meters/20 feet long.





Bonnethead Shark: Sphyrna tiburo

The bonnethead shark is a small hammerhead species that is very common in estuaries. It has a more shovel shaped head than other hammerhead species, and can grow to be about
0.6-0.9 meters/2-3 feet long.





Wobbegongs: family Orectolobidae 

The wobbegong's unique name come from the Australian Aborigine language, and means "shaggy beard", which refers to the sharks tasseled mouth. They can grow to about 1.5 meters/5 feet long on average, and there are twelve species in the Orectolobidae family.

Crocodile Shark: Pseudocarcharias kamoharai

The crocodile shark is another deep-water species that is rare. They are known for being rather "cute sharks", due to their big eyes and small size (1m/3.3ft)

Horn Shark: Heterodontus francisci

The horn shark is a member of the bullhead shark family (Heterodontidae). They are small sharks that typically reach 1 meter/3.3 feet in length.






Bignose Shark: Carcharhinus altimus

The bignose shark is named (obviously) for its large snout. They are related to other common shark species, such as the Bull Shark, Grey Reef Shark, and the Spinner Shark. The bignose shark gets to be about 2.7–2.8 meters/8.9–9.2 feet.







note: none of the images are mine