The cookie-cutter shark is a typical member of the dogfish order; it has no anal fin, a thin, cigar shaped body, and short snout. It has suctorial lips, small upper teeth, and large, triangular cusped lower teeth in 25 to 32 rows. Coloration is medium grey to grey-brown, with a dark collar marking its throat. Females are larger than males, reaching perhaps 20 inches at full size. (Compagno 1984)