Thirty-four shark species have been recorded in the Galápagos. Eight of them account for almost every encounter a diver will have.
The eight most commonly encountered: Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis), Galápagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis), Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus), Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), Galápagos Bullhead Shark (Heterodontus quoyi), Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus), Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) and Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus).
The other twenty-six are rare, occasional, migratory or pelagic: Bigeye Thresher, Common Thresher, Smalltooth (Pelagic) Thresher, Longnose Catshark, Panama Ghost Catshark, Giddings' Catshark, Pacific Bramble Shark, Great White, Silvertip, Gray Reef, Bignose, Bull Shark, Oceanic Whitetip, Sandbar, Bluntnose Sixgill, Shortfin Mako, Cookiecutter, Whitemargin Fin Smoothhound, Speckled Smoothhound, Whitenose, Cow Shark, Small-tooth Sand Tiger, Blue Shark, Great Hammerhead, Bonnethead and Smooth Hammerhead.
One of them belongs nowhere else: Giddings' Catshark (Bythaelurus giddingsi) is a Galápagos endemic, described in 2012 by McCosker, Long and Baldwin.
Our full published list carries each species with its scientific name, its Spanish, French and German common names, and the original describing authority.
Source: Galápagos Shark Diving's published shark species list.