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Ocean Voyager

Great hammerhead shark

Great hammerhead shark

(Sphyrna mokarran)

The great hammerhead shark is found in tropical seas worldwide. It is a shallow water species that feeds primarily on rays, including cownose rays and eagle rays. It also preys on other sharks and bony fish, including grouper. The largest great hammerhead ever caught was almost 20 feet long.

The front of the great hammerhead shark’s head is greatly elongated with flattened lobes that extend outward. Its eyes and nostrils are at the ends of the lobes which is believed to assist it in locating prey. The female gives live birth to 13 to 42 pups at a time. Larger females have larger litters.

Witness the great hammerhead sharks in Ocean Voyager gallery.

Fun Facts

  • The “hammer” appears to function as a second set of pectoral fins, probably giving this shark greater lift and maneuverability.
  • Hammerheads frequently are found with numerous stingray barbs stuck in their jaws, throat or sides of the head.
  • The heads of the pups are so flexible at birth that the lobes fold against the body to ease passage through the birth canal.
  • The great hammerhead shark is the largest of the nine known species of hammerheads.
  • In Africa, the hammerhead is also known as the “horned shark”.
  • Download full fact sheet

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