Circumglobal, with patchy records in tropical and warm seas. Western Atlantic: Florida, USA to Venezuela. Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Ghana, including the Mediterranean. Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, and India. Western Pacific: China, Taiwan, and Australia. Central Pacific: Hawaii. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California and southern Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador.

A heavily-bodied, cylindrical shark with a large, long and broad snout, long nasal flaps and high, triangular, saw-edged upper teeth; interdorsal ridge high and prominent; pectoral and dorsal fins large and straight. Grayish with no conspicuous markings, white below; inner corners of pectoral fins blackish.

Found near the edge of the continental and insular shelves and uppermost slopes. Rare in shallow waters, bottom associated near shelf breaks and drop-offs; young may occur at 25 m.