[4] A 2012 study of the mitochondrial gene NADH2 across elasmobranchs compared bonnethead shark specimens from the Gulf of Mexico and Trinidad, and found that the two groups clustered separately, and that Sphyrna tiburo was likely a species complex.

[6] Prior to that, a 2015 study of bonnethead sharks in Panama had already found evidence of multiple species possibly existing.

No geographical barrier separates it from the bonnethead shark further north, and a contact zone has been proposed to range from Mexico to Belize.

[6] As the populations of Sphyrna alleni are comparatively less well-managed than those of S. tiburo further north, the former has been described by its discoverers as "warrant[ing] a highly threatened status".

[6] Actions taken by Belize to limit the threat to shark populations, such as a ban on gillnets and the establishment of protected areas, have been stated by Demian Chapman to potentially help the species.