🌴 Shark Weather now covers Florida too. A Florida species guide is coming; this guide is about Southern California’s sharks.
Photo: Terry Goss / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
White shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Should you worry? Give it spaceYoung white sharks off SoCal beaches tend to avoid or ignore people. A coast-wide drone study found them near swimmers and surfers almost daily where they gather, yet unprovoked bites in Southern California stay extremely low. Follow lifeguard advisories.[3][4]
- Typical adult size
- Babies 4–5 ft, juveniles about 6–9 ft, adults 9–20 ft.[3][1]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Young white sharks gather along Southern California beaches, most often April–October depending on water temperature, then many head south to Baja in late fall. Big adults only occasionally pass along SoCal beaches and don’t stay.[2][3]
- What it eats
- Young ones: stingrays, bottom fish and squid. Big adults: mostly seals and sea lions, plus fish.[3][1]
Fun fact: SoCal beaches are a white shark nursery: one of only two known in the eastern North Pacific (the other is Vizcaíno Bay in Baja). Warm water, easy food and fewer predators help the babies grow.[2]
Photo: NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries (public domain)
Leopard shark
Triakis semifasciata
Should you worry? Harmless to peopleThe International Shark Attack File has a single report involving a leopard shark, with no bite. Watch them from a respectful distance.[6]
- Typical adult size
- Adults usually 4–5 ft; rarely over 6 ft (record about 7 ft).[6]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Year-round along the SoCal coast in kelp forests, rocky reefs and sandy shallows. Every summer, hundreds gather in the shallows near La Jolla Shores.[15][20][19]
- What it eats
- Crabs, shrimp, octopus, worms, clam siphons, small fish and fish eggs from the sea floor.[15][6]
Fun fact: About 97% of the La Jolla Shores leopard sharks are pregnant females. They aren’t mating or giving birth there; scientists think the warm, shallow water helps their pups develop.[20][19]
Photo: Mark Conlin / NOAA SWFSC (public domain)
Shortfin mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
Should you worry? Rarely an issueAn open-ocean shark that beachgoers almost never meet. Worldwide, the International Shark Attack File had 10 unprovoked bites involving makos on record (as of 2018).[7]
- Typical adult size
- Average adults about 6.5–7 ft (males) and 9–9.5 ft (females); max about 13 ft.[7]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Offshore, in open water. The Southern California Bight is an important area for the youngest makos, which stay mostly over the deep continental slope, beyond the shelf.[22][7]
- What it eats
- Fast fish like tuna and swordfish, other sharks, and squid.[7]
Fun fact: The shortfin mako is the fastest recorded shark, and it can leap far out of the water.[7]
Photo: Shane Anderson / NOAA (public domain)
Blue shark
Prionace glauca
Should you worry? Rarely an issueA curious open-ocean shark that can approach divers, especially around fish or bait. Swimmers and surfers near shore rarely see one.[8]
- Typical adult size
- Mature at about 6–7 ft; max about 12.5 ft (380 cm).[8]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Open ocean off Southern California, out over deep water. Young blue sharks use the Bight’s offshore waters too.[22][8]
- What it eats
- Small fish like herring and sardines, plus squid and octopus, often at night.[8]
Fun fact: Its pectoral fins are extra long: about as long as the distance from its snout to its last gill slit.[8]
Photo: NOAA SWFSC Large Pelagics Program (public domain)
Common thresher
Alopias vulpinus
Should you worry? Rarely an issueConsidered harmless and shy; divers report they don’t act aggressively.[9]
- Typical adult size
- Adults mature at roughly 8.5–15 ft, and the upper tail lobe can be about as long as the body.[9]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Seasonal along the coast from British Columbia to central Baja. Young threshers stay in shallow water over the continental shelf in the Southern California Bight, an important nursery.[21]
- What it eats
- Mostly small schooling fish, plus squid.[9]
Fun fact: Threshers herd schools of fish, then stun them with whip-like slaps of that giant tail.[9]
Photo: AshlieJMcivor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Soupfin shark (tope)
Galeorhinus galeus
Should you worry? Harmless to peopleConsidered harmless because of its size and small prey. The Shark Attack File lists one unprovoked incident.[10]
- Typical adult size
- Up to about 6.4 ft; males mature around 5 ft.[10]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Baja, from bays and the surf zone out to offshore waters, usually near the bottom.[10]
- What it eats
- All kinds of fish (sardines, anchovies, mackerel, halibut and more), plus squid, octopus and crabs.[10]
Fun fact: Its liver is rich in vitamin A. During World War II, when vitamin A imports dropped, that sparked an intense West Coast soupfin fishery. One nickname is “vitamin shark.”[23][10]
Photo: Ed Bierman / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Horn shark
Heterodontus francisci
Should you worry? Harmless to peopleA small, slow bottom shark. It may bite if grabbed or harassed, so look, don’t touch.[11]
- Typical adult size
- Most adults about 3 ft; max about 4 ft.[11][16]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Southern California and the Channel Islands, on shallow rocky reefs and in kelp forests (often 6–36 ft deep). Rests in the same crevice by day and hunts at night.[16][11]
- What it eats
- Sea urchins, crabs and other shellfish, crushed with flat back teeth. Eating purple urchins can stain its teeth and spines purple.[16][11]
Fun fact: Horn sharks lay corkscrew-shaped egg cases and wedge them into rock crevices, where the pups hatch 6–9 months later.[16][18]
Photo: Tony Chess / NOAA SWFSC (public domain)
Pacific angel shark
Squatina californica
Should you worry? Rarely an issueNo confirmed attacks, but it has powerful jaws. Never grab or step on one.[12]
- Typical adult size
- Up to about 4–5 ft (max reported 3.9 ft males, 4.9 ft females).[12]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Buried in sand or mud near rocky reefs and kelp forests, usually in deeper water off California; active at night.[12][18]
- What it eats
- Fish such as croakers and halibut, plus crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates.[12]
Fun fact: It looks like a ray but it’s a shark. It lies camouflaged under the sand and ambushes prey that swims too close.[18][12]
Photo: Rennett Stowe / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Swell shark
Cephaloscyllium ventriosum
Should you worry? Harmless to peoplePrefers to avoid people; it may nip only if stepped on or harassed.[13]
- Typical adult size
- Usually about 3 ft; max about 43 in.[17][13]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Fairly common in Southern California kelp forests and rocky reefs, mostly 16–121 ft deep. Hides in caves and crevices by day.[17]
- What it eats
- Small fish, mollusks and crustaceans, often sucked in during a nighttime ambush.[17][13]
Fun fact: When threatened, it gulps water or air and swells to about twice its normal size.[17][13]
Photo: Coughdrop12 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Gray smoothhound
Mustelus californicus
Should you worry? Harmless to peopleNo attacks on people are attributed to this species in the International Shark Attack File.[14]
- Typical adult size
- Average about 3.8 ft (46 in); females up to about 5.3 ft (64 in).[14]
- Where & when in SoCal
- Common in bays and along rocky shores, about 6–150 ft deep, from northern California to the Gulf of California.[14][18]
- What it eats
- Ghost shrimp, worms, crabs and small fish, using blunt teeth suited to crunching shells.[14][18]
Fun fact: Gray smoothhounds sometimes school together with leopard sharks.[18][14]
.jpg){kind=link}
