Bullhead shark

Bullhead sharks have tapered bodies, with most species reaching around in length. Their bodies vary in colour, including shades of grey, brown, and red and pale colours, and are covered in a variety of patterns, including spots and stripes. They have blunt, proportionally large heads with relatively small mouths and large nostrils, with pronounced ridges above their eyes. They have two dorsal fins, both substantial in size, the first larger than the second, each of which has a rigid fin spine at the front, along with an anal fin. == Ecology ==

Bullhead sharks live in coastal littoral environments, They feed on invertebrate prey, including both hard prey such as crustaceans and sea urchins, and soft bodied prey such as octopuses, as well as predating on fish. They use their flattened teeth at the back of the mouth to crush hard-shelled prey and fish. Hatchlings are considered large for sharks, reaching over 14 cm in length by the time they leave the egg case. Bullhead shark eggs typically hatch after 7 to 12 months, depending on the species. The female Japanese bullhead shark has been known to deposit their eggs in one location along with other females, called a "nest". The egg case of the Mexican hornshark features a tendril and more rigid flanges, suggesting that egg case design of this species primarily involves anchoring with tendrils rather than wedging into crevices. The Oman bullhead shark was the most recently described species within the Heterodontus genus until 2023 when the Painted hornshark was described. ==Species==

Ten living species of bullhead shark have been described: • Heterodontus francisci (Girard, 1855) (horn shark) • Heterodontus galeatus (Günther, 1870) (crested bullhead shark) • Heterodontus japonicus (Maclay & W. J. Macleay, 1884) (Japanese bullhead shark) • Heterodontus marshallae White, Mollen, O'Neill, Yang & Naylor, 2023 (painted hornshark) • Heterodontus mexicanus (L. R. Taylor & Castro-Aguirre, 1972) (Mexican hornshark) • Heterodontus omanensis (Z. H. Baldwin, 2005) (Oman bullhead shark) • Heterodontus portusjacksoni (F. A. A. Meyer, 1793) (Port Jackson shark) • Heterodontus quoyi (Fréminville, 1840) (Galapagos bullhead shark) • Heterodontus ramalheira (J. L. B. Smith, 1949) (whitespotted bullhead shark) • Heterodontus zebra (J. E. Gray, 1831) (zebra bullhead shark) File:Heterodontus philippi.jpg|A Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni File:Heterodontus portusjacksoni 1.jpg|Dentition and oronasal grooves of a Port Jackson shark File:Heterodontus zebra.jpg|Zebra bullhead shark, Heterodontus zebra ==See also==