This shark prefers to make his home near rocky bottoms, kelp beds, sandy areas between rocks and caves and can reach 4 feet in length. They are found in the Eastern Pacific from Central California to the Gulf of California.

 They are generally sluggish, nocturnal and solitary. Adults tend to return to the same resting spot everyday after a night of foraging for benthic invertebrates like sea urchins and crabs.

 These sharks are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs. The babies are on their own from day one as the parents do not raise the young.

They get their name from a small spine located just in front of each dorsal fin. This spine deters potential predators from making a meal of this shark, as it would be very uncomfortable in the roof of the predator’s mouth.

 We have one of these in our mermaid aquarium and can be difficult to spot as he spends most of the day resting.