TM
Common Names: Great Hammerhead
Scientific Name: Sphyrna mokarran
Size: Av. 3.5 to 4m. Max size 6m
Found in: Tropical waters worldwide.
Population Status: Vulnerable to Extinction (IUCN 2007)
Tooth Shape:
Hammerheads have smooth, curved blade-like teeth for cutting.
Reproduction:
Viviparous
Females normally give birth to between 15 and 50 pups after a pregnancy of 8-10 months. Pups develop inside the mother and are nourished through a placenta.
Pups are around 57-70 cm in length at birth.
Interesting Facts:
The Great Hammerhead is the largest of the 9 species of Hammerheads.
Great Hammerheads eat fish. squid, rays, other sharks and crustaceans. They have been known to be cannibalistic.
They are generally solitary animals.
In 2007, they became ‘Vulnerable to Extinction’ and are threatened by overfishing.
© Brian J. Skerry
