[2] Ferocactus tiburonensis is a solitary cactus, reaching up to 1 meter in height and 35 cm (14 in) in diameter.

The four straight or twisted central spines, arranged crosswise, can grow up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, with the lowest occasionally flattened.

[3][4] The plant is found growing in eastern bajada to Sierra Kunkaak, Tiburón Island and south of Bahía Kino to the vicinity of Tastiota in Sonora, Mexico.

[5][6] George Edmund Lindsay first described the plant as Ferocactus wislizeni var.

tiburonensis in 1955, with the specific epithet referring to its occurrence on Tiburón Island, Mexico.