The maximum total lengthrecorded for the gulper shark is 5 ft. Gulper sharkpups average from 1 to 1.4 ft total length at birth. Precise details of the size, age, and growth, such as size at maturity for the gulper shark, are currently unknown. The gulper shark is a slim, relatively long dogfish with two dorsal fins bearing long grooved spines. The second dorsal fin is shorter than the first, and its base is about three-fourths the length of the first dorsal fin. The distance from the first and second dorsal fins is equal tothe distance from the tip of the snout to the axil of the pectoral fin. The color of the gulper shark is olive-grey to grey-brown or sandy grey to brown dorsally and lighter ventrally with no obvious markings in adults; juveniles may be lighter and may have dusky tips on the dorsal and caudal fins.