---
title: "Horn Shark"
description: "Heterodontus francisci — Pesci. The horn shark (Heterodontus francisci) is a species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/horn-shark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Horn Shark

> Heterodontus francisci — Pesci. The horn shark (Heterodontus francisci) is a species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae.

- Scientific name: *Heterodontus francisci*
- Category: `fish` (Pesci)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 1645
- Wikidata: [Q934615](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q934615)
- iNaturalist taxon: [102710](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/102710)

## Names

- en: Horn Shark
- de: Hornhai
- es: Tiburón puerco
- fr: Requin dormeur cornu
- nl: Californische stierkophaai

## Countries with the most observations

US (1434), MX (66)

## Summary

The horn shark (Heterodontus francisci) is a species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae. It is endemic to the coastal waters off the western coast of North America, from California to the Gulf of California. Young sharks are segregated spatially from the adults, with the former preferring deeper sandy flats and the latter preferring shallower rocky reefs or algal beds. A small species typically measuring 1 m (3.3 ft) in length, the horn shark can be recognized by a short, blunt head with ridges over its eyes, two high dorsal fins with large spines, and a brown or gray coloration with many small dark spots…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_shark

## Photo

![Horn Shark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/horn-shark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Chad King / SIMoN NOAA · Public domain · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/102710

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/horn-shark?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).