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The shark species "Great hammerhead"

Photo
Great hammerhead
Great hammerhead
Photo © Shutterstock

Photo © Shutterstock

Range Map
North America South America Africa Australia Europe Asia Coming soon Coming soon
North America South America Africa Australia Europe Asia Coming soon Coming soon
Great hammerhead

Rough area of distribution

Taxonomy
Kingdom:
Animals (Animalia)
Phylum:
Vertebrates (Chordata)
Class:
Cartilagenous fishes (Chondrichthyes)
Order:
Ground sharks (Carcharhiniformes)
Family:
Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae)
Genus:
Sphyrna
Names
Scientific:
Sphyrna mokarran
English:
Great hammerhead
German:
Grosser Hammerhai
French:
Grand requin-marteau
Spanish:
Cornuda gigante
Appearance
Very large hammerhead shark. Anterior head margin nearly straight, with a median indentation. First dorsal fin very long, erect and falcate with the rear tip in front of the pelvic fin"s origin. Second dorsal fin is high with a concave posterior margin. Falcate pelvic fins.
Coloration
Bronze to grey-brown with white ventral surface. Adults have no markings on fins, while in juveniles the second dorsal fin tip is dusky colored.
Distribution
Circumtropical. Western Atlantic: North Carolina to Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: Morocco, Senegal. Indo-West Pacific: East Coast of Africa (Natal to Mozambique). Red Sea, India, Thailand. Western Pacific: China, Taiwan, Australia, New Caledonia, French Polynesia. Eastern Pacific: Southern Baja California to Panama, Ecuador to northern Peru.
Biology
Can be found close inshore and well offshore to depth of about 80 m. This species favors coral reefs (continental and insular). It is a migrating species with some populations (off of Florida and China) moving poleward in the summer.
Diet
Fishes (big variety), sharks but strongly favors stingrays.
Size
Average size between 400 cm and 500 cm, total maximum size about 610 cm.
Reproduction
Viviparous, with yolksac-placenta (gives birth to live young). Litter size between 12 and 40 pups. Size at birth between 50 cm and 70 cm. Gestation period at least 7 months. Males reach sexual maturity at 240 cm to 270 cm, female at 250 cm to 300 cm.
Similar Species
Scalloped hammerhead and Smooth hammerhead but the Great hammerhead has a much higher first dorsal fin making mis-identification very unlikely.
Vulnerability
Category: Critically Endangered (CR)
Criteria: A2bd
Last evaluated: 2019
Trend: Decreasing




© IUCN Red List 2024. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Version 2024-2.

Danger to Humans
Potentially dangerous.

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