Great hammerhead

Sphyrna mokarran · The great hammerhead is the largest hammerhead shark, a big predator found in warm tropical oceans around the world.

Also called Great hammerhead shark, Squat-headed Hammerhead Shark.

Great hammerhead
Photo: Gary J. Wood from Toronto, ON, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
Great hammerhead
Photo: Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0
Great hammerhead
Photo: Stevelaycock21, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassChondrichthyes
OrderCarcharhiniformes
FamilySphyrnidae
GenusSphyrna
SpeciesSphyrna mokarran

Where it lives

Tropical coastal and offshore seas worldwide, often near coral reefs.

Fun facts

  • One great hammerhead caught off Florida had 96 venomous stingray spines in and around its mouth, and they didn't seem to bother it.
  • Great hammerheads sweep their heads over the sea floor to detect the electrical signals of stingrays buried in the sand.
  • Great hammerheads may swim on their side for up to 90% of the time, which helps them save energy.
  • The heaviest known great hammerhead weighed 580 kg because she was pregnant with 55 pups.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).