 With a cylindrical body and a broad, flattened head, the tawny nurse shark is quite similar in appearance to the nurse shark ("Ginglymostoma cirratum") of the Atlantic and East Pacific, from which it can be distinguished by its pointed-tipped dorsal fins and narrow, sickle-shaped pectoral fins.The maximum recorded length of the tawny nurse shark is .Nocturnal in habits, the tawny nurse shark tends to spend the day resting in piles of two dozen or more individuals inside caves or under ledges.