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Despite being common in the northwestern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, the finetooth shark is one of the least-known requiem sharks off the southeastern United States. Both adults and juveniles form large schools. The finetooth shark feeds mainly on small bony fishes, and often enter the surf zone during the day to hunt. The most important prey of this species off the US East Coast is the Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), which the sharks swallow whole after removing the head. Other known food items include spot, mackerel, mullet, shrimp, and in one case a juvenile Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), which may have been scavenged from the bycatch discard of a shrimp trawler. The finetooth shark may be preyed upon by larger sharks.
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