The bonnethead shark is found in the western Atlantic Ocean, from North Carolina to southern Brazil, including Cuba, the Bahamas and the northern Gulf of Mexico. In the east Pacific, they are found from southern California south to Ecuador. The bonnethead is one of the most abundant shark species along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. It is usually found on sandy bottoms, seagrass beds, lagoons and in bays and estuaries.

The bonnethead is one of the smaller species of hammerhead shark. Its head is more mallet shaped than other hammerheads and its snout is broadly rounded, resembling a shovel. The female is known to move to shallow water before giving birth, often in estuaries. Bonnetheads are viviparous, meaning they give live birth, and birth approximately 8-16 pups.

The bonnethead is relatively harmless to humans and extremely shy and difficult to approach.

Touch the bonnethead sharks in Georgia Explorer at the Aquarium.

• Unlike most sharks, bonnetheads often form single-sex schools or schools of similar sized individuals.
• An adult can measure up to five feet.
• At birth, a bonnethead shark can measure 13 to 15 inches.
• Bonnetheads must swim continuously to receive oxygen from the water.
• They typically travel in groups of 5-15, but they can number in the thousands.

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