Sphyrnidae

Caribbean Bonnethead

Sphyrna alleni

Pointed cephalofoil shape

• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Pacific Ocean
• Central America and the Caribbean
• North America
• South America
• Small
• Tropical fish

Sphyrna alleni, the shovelbill shark, is a species of hammerhead shark found along the West Atlantic coast from Belize to Brazil. Its pointed cephalofoil distinguishes it from the more northern bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo), from which it was split in 2024. The species is also diagnosed by different tooth and precaudal vertebrae counts.