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Morphology

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Great hammerhead sharks posses a virtually straight anterior margin of the head with a deep central indentation. They have high second dorsal fins and the pelvic fins have curved rear margins. The teeth are triangular with extraordinarily serrated edges, becoming increasingly oblique toward the corners of the mouth. Their coloration varies from deep olive green to brownish grey above and white below. They are generally 4 to 6 m in length.

Range mass: 400 to 460 kg.

Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Habitat

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These sharks are found in both open ocean and shallow coastal waters. During summer they may make small migrations towards more northerly areas.

Aquatic Biomes: reef ; coastal

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Distribution

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Great hammerhead sharks occur in all tropical waters worldwide.

Biogeographic Regions: oceanic islands (Native ); indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Trophic Strategy

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Great hammerhead sharks feed on rays, smaller sharks, and many species of bony fishes.

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Benefits

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Great hammerhead sharks are classified as game fish, as are all large hammerhead sharks. Their skin is often used for leather.

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Benefits

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These sharks are potentially dangerous to humans and cases of attacks by great hammerhead sharks have been documented.

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Conservation Status

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Great hammerhead shark populations seem to be stable.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: endangered

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Reproduction

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Great Hammerhead sharks are viviparous. At a length of 3m, maturity is reached. Litters are made up of between 20 and 40 pups. Young are born in the summer season and are approximately 70 cm in length. Head shape of a newborn pup is more rounded than that of an adult but this changes as they grow.

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Street, R. 2002. "Sphyrna mokarran" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sphyrna_mokarran.html
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Robin Street, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Biology

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The great hammerhead is particularly keen on feeding on stingrays, despite the danger of their barbs. The hammerhead pins down each ray with its hammer and then bites chunks from the wings until the ray is immobilised (4). It also feeds on groupers, sea catfish, small, bony fish, crabs, squid, other sharks and lobsters (2). It can be cannibalistic although it is not known what triggers this behaviour. Feeding mainly at dusk, the great hammerhead uses an electro-sensory system to locate prey; sensing the weak electric field produced by all living organisms. Larger sharks may prey on juvenile great hammerheads but adults have no natural predators (3). Mating has rarely been observed in this species, but unlike other sharks it is known to mate at the surface (3). Males use extensions of the pelvic fins called 'claspers' to transfer sperm to the female (5), resulting in a pregnancy lasting 11 months (3). Young are born live in the spring or summer (3). The function of the hammer is much discussed and a great many theories have been put forward as to its purpose. Amongst these theories, the most popular are that it helps the shark to scan larger areas of the ocean floor for food, and that it maximises the area of the sensory organs (known as the ampullae of Lorenzini) that can detect chemical, physical and thermal changes in the water, as well as electric fields (5).
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Conservation

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Sharks have a poor reputation with humans although they are responsible for relatively few deaths. All nine species of hammerhead together have attacked just 21 people, resulting in two deaths in the history of the International Shark Attack File, which attempts to compile all shark attacks on record since the mid 1500s. Conservation action for sharks is generally poor, but further research into great hammerhead population numbers and trends is necessary before it is known how threatened this species is (3).
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Description

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This massive and well-known shark has the most distinctive hammer of its genus. It is particularly wide and virtually straight along the front edge, with just a small notch in the centre. The eyes are at either end of the hammer and the mouth is positioned on the underside in line with the trail edge of the hammer. The first dorsal fin is particularly tall, sickle-shaped and has a pointed tip. The second dorsal fin is also tall with a concave rear edge. The body is dark grey above fading to light grey below. The teeth are triangular and strongly serrated. Juveniles are similar but have a more curved hammer (3).
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Habitat

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Preferring warm temperate and tropical waters, the great hammerhead is usually found close inshore, particularly around reefs, but may also found some distance offshore to depths of 300 metres (2).
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Range

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The great hammerhead is found around the world in warm temperate and tropical seas including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and Black Seas (1) (2). It migrates poleward during the summer in search of cooler waters (3).
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Status

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Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1).
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Threats

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Although not targeted specifically, once caught accidentally on longline and in drift nets, this shark is rarely returned to the water alive. It is prized for its fins for shark fin soup, as well as for its liver oil for vitamins, its skin for leather, and its meat for fishmeal (2).
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Reproduction

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Mating has not been that observed in this species, but unlike other sharks the great hammerhead is known to mate at the surface. Males use extensions of the pelvic fins called ‘claspers’ to transfer sperm to the females. The pregnancy’s last 11 months, and then the young are born live in the spring or summer.

Conservation Status

provided by EOL authors
The great hammerhead is desperately in need of coordinated conservation efforts involving the management of directed fisheries and those that take this species as bycatch. Fortunately, the increasing recognition of the detrimental effects of shark finning has led to the implementation of finning bans by fishing states in the U.S.A., Australia and the European Union. Nevertheless, improved enforcement of legislation is required to prevent ongoing illegal finning activities. Bycatch limits for sharks in the South African longline fishery are also helping to conserve this imperilled species

Migration

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The great hammerhead can be found around the world in tropical waters such as the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and smaller seas like the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Arabian Gulf. The great hammerhead migrates poleward during the summer in search of cooler waters.

Sphyrna mokkaran

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The Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokkaran) taxonomy : Filum : Chordata Class : Chondricthys Ordo : Charcarinifer Famili : Sphyrinidae Genus : Sphyrna Species : Sphyrna mokkaran The great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran), one species of Sphyrninidae that have the largest size of body usually founded in the warm water especially on the warm temperate ocean around the world like Pacific and Hindia ocean. This species can we found on the lagoon, coral reef, embayment, coastal water, sea mount, and island chain. They also found on the schooling but not on the large schooling scale. The hammerhead shark commonly observed from coastal water to continental shelf and at depth ranging from 1m to 300m under the sea surface. They are high migratory species and nomadic. They distribution area such as Andaman Sea, Arabian sea, East china sea, Indonesia sea, gulf of Mexico, Mediteranian sea, etc. Like the other species of shark, the hammerhead shark is one of top predator on the coastal ecosystem that need a good condition for the live. They diet includes demersal fish (prefer), crustacea, otherelasmobranchs, and chepalopods. Grouper and catfish also the prefer food for great hammerhead shark. Today, the great hammerhead shark is one of shark species commonly targeted for their large ddorsal and tail fins which are highly valued on Asian fish market. The impact for this condition is decreasing population of great hammershark. IUCN give ENDENGARED status for this species.
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Migration

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Oceanodromous. Migrating within oceans typically between spawning and different feeding areas, as tunas do. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.
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Recorder
Kent E. Carpenter
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Diagnostic Description

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A very large hammerhead also with a notch at the center of the head (Ref. 5578). Front margin of head gently curved in juveniles, becoming nearly straight in adults, with slight median notch (Ref. 26938). 1st dorsal fin very high and curved; 2nd dorsal and pelvic fins high and with deeply concave rear margins. Light grey or grey-brown above, white below; fins without conspicuous markings (Ref. 5578).
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Recorder
Cristina V. Garilao
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Life Cycle

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Viviparous with a yolk sac placenta and 13-42 young in a litter (Ref. 244); 6-42 pups after gestation period of ~11 months (Ref.58048). Size at birth between 50 to 70 cm TL (Ref.58048, Ref. 13562).
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Morphology

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Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Analspines: 0; Analsoft rays: 0
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Trophic Strategy

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Occurs on the continental shelf (Ref. 75154). Inhabits coral reefs (Ref. 58534).
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Pascualita Sa-a
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Biology

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A coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic shark, found close inshore and well offshore, over the continental shelves, island terraces, and in passes and lagoons (Ref. 244, 58302). Often bottom and reef associated at 1-80 m (Ref. 58302). Prefers to feed on stingrays and other batoids, groupers and sea catfishes, but also preys on other small bony fishes, crabs, squid, other sharks, rays, and lobsters (Ref. 244, 13562, 1602). A viviparous species, with 13-42 of about 56 to 70 cm young in a litter (Ref. 26938, 1602). Potentially dangerous to people (Ref. 13562) but only few, if any, of the attacks on people can be definitely attributed to it because of the apparent difficulty of distinguishing large hammerhead species involved in attacks (Ref. 244). Caught occasionally by target shark longline, demersal tangle net and tuna gillnet fisheries (Ref.58048). Meat utilized for human consumption (fresh, fresh-frozen, dried-salted, and smoked), liver oil for vitamins, fins for soup, hides for leather, and carcasses for fishmeal (Ref. 244). Its large fins, including the tail, sail-like first dorsal fin, are prized in the Oriental sharkfin trade (Ref. 47737).
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Importance

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fisheries: commercial
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分布

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廣泛分布於世界溫、熱帶水域。臺灣北部及東部海域可發現其蹤跡。
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利用

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主要以底拖網、流刺網及延繩釣捕獲,經濟價值高。肉質佳,魚肉紅燒或加工成各種肉製品;鰭可做魚翅;皮厚可加工成皮革;肝可加工製成維他命及油;剩餘物製成魚粉。
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描述

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體延長,側扁而粗壯。頭前部平扁,兩側特別擴展,形成很寬的鎚狀突出,狀似廣闊之丫髻狀。吻部短而寬,前緣呈波浪狀,中央區顯然凹入。眼小,圓形,瞬膜發達。前鼻溝發育不完全,甚至沒有發育。口裂大,弧形;上下頜齒同型,側扁三角形,齒頭傾斜,邊緣具鋸齒,不具小齒尖。噴水孔缺如。第一背鰭高大,前緣略傾斜,鐮刀形,起點與胸鰭內角相對;第二背鰭中型,起點於臀鰭起點後方;腹鰭後緣稍凹入;臀鰭等大於第二背鰭;胸鰭中大,後緣略凹入;尾鰭寬長,尾椎軸上揚,下葉前部顯著大三角形突出,中部低平延長,與後部間有一深缺刻,後部小三角形突出,尾端尖突。體背棕色,腹部白色。背鰭上部具黑緣;胸、腹及臀鰭緣淡色。
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棲地

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棲息沿岸至外洋性之中表層魚類,亦常出現於大陸棚或島棚的水域,偶也見於內灣或潟湖區。具有洄游習性。肉食性,以其他軟、硬骨魚類及頭足類、甲殼類等底棲生物為食。具攻擊性,對人類具有潛在性危險。胎生,一胎可產下13-42 尾幼鯊,剛出生之幼鯊體長可達45-60公分。
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Great hammerhead

provided by wikipedia EN

The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) or great hammerhead shark is the largest species of hammerhead shark, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae, attaining an average length of 4.6 m (15 ft) and reaching a maximum length of 6.1 m (20 ft). It is found in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, inhabiting coastal areas and the continental shelf. The great hammerhead can be distinguished from other hammerheads by the shape of its "hammer" (called the "cephalofoil"), which is wide with an almost straight front margin, and by its tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin. A solitary, strong-swimming apex predator, the great hammerhead feeds on a wide variety of prey ranging from crustaceans and cephalopods, to bony fish, to smaller sharks. Observations of this species in the wild suggest that the cephalofoil functions to immobilize stingrays, a favored prey. This species has a viviparous mode of reproduction, bearing litters of up to 50 pups every two years.

Although potentially dangerous, the great hammerhead rarely attacks humans and can sometimes behave inquisitively toward divers. This shark is heavily fished for its large fins, which are valuable on the Chinese market as the main ingredient of shark fin soup. As a result, great hammerhead populations are declining substantially worldwide, and it has been assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as of 2019.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The great hammerhead was first described as Zygaena mokarran in 1837 by German naturalist Eduard Rüppell. The species name is the common name in Arabic مقرن and means "horned". The name was later changed to the current Sphyrna mokarran.[3] For many years, though, the valid scientific name for the great hammerhead was thought to be Sphyrna tudes, which was coined in 1822 by Achille Valenciennes. In 1950, Enrico Tortonese determined that the specimens illustrated by Valenciennes were in fact smalleye hammerheads, to which the name S. tudes then applied. As the next-most senior synonym, Sphyrna mokarran became the great hammerhead's valid name. The lectotype for this species is a 2.5-m-long (8.2 ft) male from the Red Sea.[4]

Eusphyra blochii

Sphyrna mokarran Great hammerhead (Duane Raver).png

Sphyrna zygaena Smooth hammerhead (Duane Raver).png

Sphyrna lewini Scalloped hammerhead (Duane Raver).png

Sphyrna tudes

Sphyrna media

Sphyrna tiburo Bonnethead shark (Duane Raver).png

Sphyrna corona

Phylogenetic tree of hammerhead sharks.[5]

Older studies based on morphology have generally placed the great hammerhead as one of the more derived members of its family, reflecting the traditional view that cephalofoil size gradually increased over the course of hammerhead shark evolution, but this view has been refuted by phylogenetic analyses using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, which found that the great hammerhead and the smooth hammerhead (S. zygaena) form a clade that is basal to all other Sphyrna species. These results also show that the first hammerheads to evolve had large rather than small cephalofoils.[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

The great hammerhead inhabits tropical waters around the world, between the latitudes of 40°N and 37°S. In the Atlantic Ocean, it is found from North Carolina to Uruguay, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and from Morocco to Senegal, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is found all along the rim of the Indian Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean from the Ryukyu Islands to Australia, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia, and from southern Baja California to Peru.[3] It may occur off Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and Western Sahara, but this has not been confirmed.[1] Great hammerheads may be found from inshore waters less than 1 m (3.3 ft) deep, to a depth of 80 m (260 ft) offshore. They favor coral reefs, but also inhabit continental shelves, island terraces, lagoons, and deep water near land. They are migratory; populations off Florida and in the South China Sea have been documented moving closer to the poles in the summer.[4]

Description

The "hammer" of the great hammerhead is wide with a distinctively straight leading edge. The individual pictured here also demonstrates the rolled swimming that the species employs as its primary form of locomotion.

The streamlined body of the great hammerhead with the expanded cephalofoil is typical of the hammerhead sharks. Adults can be distinguished from the scalloped hammerhead and the smooth hammerhead by the shape of the cephalofoil, which has a nearly straight front margin (as opposed to arched), with prominent medial and lateral indentations. The width of the cephalofoil is 23–27% of the body length. The teeth are triangular and strongly serrated, becoming more oblique toward the corners of the mouth. Seventeen tooth rows are on either side of the upper jaw, with two or three teeth at the symphysis (the midline of the jaw), and 16–17 teeth on either side of the lower jaw and one to three at the symphysis.[3]

The first dorsal fin is distinctive, being very tall and strongly sickle-shaped, and originates over the insertions of the pectoral fins. The second dorsal fin and anal fin are both relatively large, with deep notches in the rear margins. The pelvic fins are sickle-shaped with concave rear margins, in contrast to the straight-margined pelvic fins of the scalloped hammerhead. The skin is covered with closely placed dermal denticles. Each denticle is diamond-shaped, with three to five horizontal ridges leading to marginal teeth in smaller individuals, and five or six in larger ones. The great hammerhead is dark brown to light gray to olive above, fading to white on the underside. The fins are unmarked in adults, while the tip of the second dorsal fin may be dark in juveniles.[3][4]

The typical minimum great hammerhead measures 3.5 m (11 ft) long and weighs over 230 kg (510 lb), while the maximum measures 4.6 m (15 ft) long and weighs 449.5 kg (991 lb). A small percentage of the population, mostly or all females, are much larger. The longest great hammerhead on record was 6.1 m (20 ft).[3][4] The heaviest known great hammerhead is a female, 4.4 m (14 ft) long and 580 kg (1,280 lb) in weight caught off Boca Grande, Florida, in 2006. The weight of the female was due to her being pregnant with 55 neonatal pups.[7]

Biology and ecology

The great hammerhead is a solitary, nomadic predator that tends to be given a wide berth by other reef sharks. If confronted, it may respond with an agonistic display, dropping its pectoral fins and swimming in a stiff or jerky fashion.[8] Juveniles are preyed upon by larger sharks such as bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), while adults have no major predators except for killer whales, which hunt hammerheads of any age.[3] Yellow jacks (Carangoides bartholomaei) have been seen rubbing themselves against the hammerhead's flanks, possibly to rid themselves of parasites.[9] Schools of pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) sometimes accompany the great hammerhead.[10] The great hammerhead is parasitized by several species of copepods, including Alebion carchariae, A. elegans, Nesippus orientalis, N. crypturus, Eudactylina pollex, Kroyeria gemursa, and Nemesis atlantica.[3]

Feeding

Stingrays are a favored prey of the great hammerhead.

The great hammerhead shark is an active predator with a varied diet, known prey of the great hammerhead include invertebrates such as crabs, lobsters, squid, and octopus; bony fishes such as tarpon, sardines, sea catfishes, toadfish, porgies, grunts, jacks, croakers, groupers, flatfishes, boxfishes, and porcupine fishes; and smaller sharks such as smoothhounds.[4] At Rangiroa Atoll, great hammerheads prey opportunistically on grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) that have exhausted themselves pursuing mates.[11] The species is known to be cannibalistic.[3] In the Gatun Formation of Panama, fossil teeth belonging to great hammerheads suggest the shark once preyed on juvenile Otodus megalodon, alongside the extinct snaggletooth shark Hemipristis serra, with which it was once contemporary.[12]

Great hammerheads are apex predators among sharks, and are specialists at feeding on other sharks, rays, and skates, especially stingrays.[13] The venomous spines of stingrays are frequently found lodged inside its mouth and do not seem to bother the shark, as one specimen caught off Florida had 96 spines in and around its mouth. Great hammerheads primarily hunt at dawn or dusk, swinging their heads in broad angles over the sea floor so as to pick up the electrical signatures of stingrays buried in the sand, via numerous electroreceptory organs located on the underside of the cephalofoil. The cephalofoil also serves as a hydrofoil that allows the shark to quickly turn around and strike at a ray once detected.[14] Off Florida, large hammerheads are often the first to reach newly baited sharklines, suggesting a particularly keen sense of smell.[4]

Another function of the cephalofoil is suggested by an observation of a great hammerhead attacking a southern stingray (Dasyatis americana) in the Bahamas; the shark first knocked the ray to the sea bottom with a powerful blow from above, and then pinned it with its head while pivoting to take a large bite from each side of the ray's pectoral fin disc. This effectively crippled the stingray, which was then picked up in the jaws and sawed apart with rapid shakes of the head.[15] A great hammerhead has also been seen attacking a spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) in open water by taking a massive bite out of one of its pectoral fins. The ray thus incapacitated, the shark once again used its head to pin it to the bottom and pivoted to take the ray in its jaws head-first. These observations suggest that the great hammerhead seeks to disable rays with the first bite, a strategy similar to that of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), and that its cephalofoil is an adaptation for prey handling.[16]

Rolled swimming and energy conservation

A 2016 study of specimens logged with accelerometers showed that great hammerhead sharks reduce drag and lessen energy expenditure by swimming on their side in a posture termed "rolled swimming". The shark uses its very large dorsal fin to help achieve lift, a habit that had previously been noted in captive specimens, and may spend up to 90% of its time in this swimming orientation. The technique is thought to save about 10% in drag and consequently movement costs.[17]

Life history

Great hammerhead embryos are connected to their mother by a placenta during gestation.

As with other hammerhead sharks, great hammerheads are viviparous; once the developing young use up their supply of yolk, the yolk sac is transformed into a structure analogous to a mammalian placenta. Unlike most other sharks, which mate on or near the sea bottom, great hammerheads have been observed mating near the surface. In one account from the Bahamas, a mating pair ascended while swimming around each other, mating when they reached the surface.[3] Females breed once every two years, giving birth from late spring to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and from December to January in Australian waters.[1] The gestation period is 11 months.[3] The litter size ranges from six to 55 pups, with 20–40 being typical.[7] The young measure 50–70 cm (19.5–27.5 in) at birth; males reach maturity at 2.3–2.8 m (7.5–9.2 ft) long and 51 kg (112 lb) and the females at 2.5–3.0 m (8.2–9.8 ft) and 41 kg (90 lb). The young differ from the adults in having a rounded frontal margin on the head.[1][3] The typical lifespan of this species is 20–30 years;[3] the record Boca Grande female was estimated to be 40–50 years old.[7]

Human interactions

A great hammerhead caught by a sport fisherman. Human exploitation now threatens the survival of this species.

With its large size and cutting teeth, the great hammerhead could seriously injure a human, so caution should be exercised around them. This species has a (possibly undeserved) reputation for aggression and being the most dangerous of the hammerhead sharks.[18][19] Divers underwater have reported that great hammerheads tend to be shy or nonreactive toward humans.[9][14] Reports have been made of great hammerheads approaching divers closely and even charging them when they first enter the water.[10][18] As of 2011, the International Shark Attack File lists 34 bites, with 17 of them unprovoked and none fatal, attributable to hammerhead sharks of the genus Sphyrna. Due to the difficulty in identifying the species involved, how many were caused by great hammerheads is uncertain. This shark has been confirmed to be responsible for only one (provoked) bite.[20]

The great hammerhead is regularly caught both commercially and recreationally in the tropics, using longlines, fixed bottom nets, hook-and-line, and trawls. Though the meat is rarely consumed, their fins are becoming increasing valuable due to the Asian demand for shark fin soup.[21] In addition, their skin used for leather, their liver oil for vitamins, and their carcasses for fishmeal.[3] The great hammerhead is also taken unintentionally as bycatch and suffers very high mortality, over 90% for fisheries in the northwest Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Entanglement in shark nets around Australian and South African beaches is another source of mortality.[1]

In Queensland, Australia recreational fishers are prohibited from taking any hammerhead species.[22] In Australia's other northern jurisdictions (the Northern Territory and Western Australia) recreational targeting and catching of great hammerheads is allowed.[23][24]

Great hammerhead feeding, Bimini

Conservation status

The great hammerhead is extremely vulnerable to overfishing due to its low overall abundance and long generation time. Assessment of its conservation status is difficult, as few fisheries separate the great hammerhead from other hammerheads in their reported catches. This species is listed as globally critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is endangered in the north-western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, where though it is not a targeted species, populations have dropped 50% since the 1990s due to bycatch. It is also endangered in the southwestern Indian Ocean, where large numbers of longline vessels operate illegally along the coasts for hammerheads and the giant guitarfish (Rhynchobatus djiddensis). The great hammerhead catch rate in Indian Ocean has declined 73% from 1978 to 2003, though whether these represent localized or widespread depletions is uncertain. The great hammerhead is critically endangered along the western coast of Africa, where stocks have collapsed, with an estimated 80% decline in the past 25 years. The West African Sub-Regional Fishing Commission (SRFC) has recognized the great hammerhead as one of the four most threatened species in the region, though fishing continues unmonitored and unregulated. Off northern Australia, this species was assessed as data deficient, but at "high risk". Concern has arisen there over a substantial increase in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, reflecting the rising value of this shark's fins.[1]

No conservation measures specifically protecting the great hammerhead have been enacted. It is listed on Annex I, Highly Migratory Species, of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, though no management schemes have yet been implemented under this agreement. The banning of shark finning by countries and supranational entities such as United States, Australia, and the European Union, and international regulatory bodies such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, should reduce fishing pressure on the great hammerhead.[1]

According to a January 2021 study in Nature, which studied 31 species of sharks and rays, the number of these species found in open oceans had dropped by 71% in around 50 years. The great hammerhead was included in the study.[25][26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Rigby, C.L.; Barreto, R.; Carlson, J.; Fernando, D.; Fordham, S.; Francis, M.P.; Herman, K.; Jabado, R.W.; Liu, K.M.; Marshall, A.; Pacoureau, N.; Romanov, E.; Sherley, R.B.; Winker, H. (2019). "Sphyrna mokarran". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T39386A2920499. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T39386A2920499.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bester, Cathleen. Biological Profiles: Great Hammerhead. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on October 18, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Compagno, L.J.V. (1984). Sharks of the World: An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Shark Species Known to Date. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization. pp. 548–549. ISBN 92-5-101384-5.
  5. ^ a b Lim, D.D.; Motta, P.; Mara, K.; Martin, A.P. (2010). "Phylogeny of hammerhead sharks (Family Sphyrnidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (2): 572–579. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.037. PMID 20138218.
  6. ^ Cavalcanti, M.J. (2007). "A Phylogenetic Supertree of the Hammerhead Sharks (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae)". Zoological Studies. 46 (1): 6–11.
  7. ^ a b c "Record Hammerhead Pregnant With 55 Pups". Discovery News. Associated Press. July 1, 2006. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Martin, R.A. (March 2007). "A review of shark agonistic displays: comparison of display features and implications for shark–human interactions". Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology. 40 (1): 3–34. doi:10.1080/10236240601154872.
  9. ^ a b Great Hammerhead. Elasmodiver.com. Retrieved on October 18, 2008.
  10. ^ a b Stafford-Deitsch, J. (1999). Red Sea Sharks. Trident Press Ltd. pp. 92–93. ISBN 1-900724-28-6.
  11. ^ Whitty, J. (2007). The Fragile Edge: Diving and Other Adventures in the South Pacific. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 9. ISBN 978-0-618-19716-3.
  12. ^ Pimiento, Catalina; Ehret, Dana J.; MacFadden, Bruce J.; Hubbell, Gordon (2010). "Ancient Nursery Area for the Extinct Giant Shark Megalodon from the Miocene of Panama". PLOS ONE. 5 (5): e10552. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...510552P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010552. PMC 2866656. PMID 20479893.
  13. ^ Raoult, Vincent; Broadhurst, Matt K.; Peddemors, Vic M.; Williamson, Jane E.; Gaston, Troy F. (2019). "Resource use of great hammerhead sharks ( Sphyrna mokarran ) off eastern Australia". Journal of Fish Biology. 95 (6): 1430–1440. doi:10.1111/jfb.14160. PMID 31613987. S2CID 204739696.
  14. ^ a b Hammerschlag, Rick. Sandy Plains: Great Hammerhead Shark. ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Retrieved on October 18, 2008.
  15. ^ Strong, W.R.; Snelson Jr., F.F. & Gruber, S.H. (September 19, 1990). "Hammerhead Shark Predation on Stingrays: An Observation of Prey Handling by Sphyrna mokarran". Copeia. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. 1990 (3): 836–840. doi:10.2307/1446449. JSTOR 1446449.
  16. ^ Chapman, D.D.; Gruber, S.H. (May 2002). "A further observation of the prey-handling behavior of the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran: predation upon the spotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari" (PDF). Bulletin of Marine Science. 70 (3): 947–952.
  17. ^ Payne, N. L.; Iosilevskii, G.; Barnett, A.; Fischer, C.; Graham, R. T.; Gleiss, A. C.; Watanabe, Y. Y. (2016). "Great hammerhead sharks swim on their side to reduce transport costs". Nature Communications. 7: 12289. Bibcode:2016NatCo...712289P. doi:10.1038/ncomms12289. PMC 4963531. PMID 27457414.
  18. ^ a b Stafford-Deitsch, J. (2000). Sharks of Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Trident Press Ltd. pp. 90–91. ISBN 1-900724-45-6.
  19. ^ Thornley, M.; Dante, V.; Wilson, P. & Bartholomew, W. (2003). Surfing Australia (second ed.). Tuttle Publishing. p. 264. ISBN 962-593-774-9.
  20. ^ ISAF Statistics on Attacking Species of Shark. International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Retrieved on April 24, 2009.
  21. ^ Denham, J.; Stevens, J.D.; Simpfendorfer, C.; Heupel, M.R.; Cliff, G.; Morgan, A.; Graham, R.; Ducrocq, M.; Dulvy, N.K.; Seisay, M.; Asber, M.; Valenti, S.V.; Litvinov, F.; Martins, P.; Lemine Ould Sidi, M.; Tous, P. & Bucal, D. (2007). "Sphyrna mokarran". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T39386A10191938. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T39386A10191938.en.
  22. ^ Queensland, c=AU; o=The State of. "Size and possession limits - tidal waters | Recreational fishing rules and regulations". www.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  23. ^ Government, Northern Territory (2016-01-21). "Recreational fishing". nt.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  24. ^ "Bag and size limits". www.fish.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  25. ^ Briggs, Helen (28 January 2021). "Extinction: 'Time is running out' to save sharks and rays". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  26. ^ Richardson, Holly (27 January 2021). "Shark, ray populations have declined by 'alarming' 70 per cent since 1970s, study finds". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

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Great hammerhead: Brief Summary

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The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) or great hammerhead shark is the largest species of hammerhead shark, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae, attaining an average length of 4.6 m (15 ft) and reaching a maximum length of 6.1 m (20 ft). It is found in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, inhabiting coastal areas and the continental shelf. The great hammerhead can be distinguished from other hammerheads by the shape of its "hammer" (called the "cephalofoil"), which is wide with an almost straight front margin, and by its tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin. A solitary, strong-swimming apex predator, the great hammerhead feeds on a wide variety of prey ranging from crustaceans and cephalopods, to bony fish, to smaller sharks. Observations of this species in the wild suggest that the cephalofoil functions to immobilize stingrays, a favored prey. This species has a viviparous mode of reproduction, bearing litters of up to 50 pups every two years.

Although potentially dangerous, the great hammerhead rarely attacks humans and can sometimes behave inquisitively toward divers. This shark is heavily fished for its large fins, which are valuable on the Chinese market as the main ingredient of shark fin soup. As a result, great hammerhead populations are declining substantially worldwide, and it has been assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as of 2019.

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Description

provided by World Register of Marine Species
A coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic shark, found close inshore and well offshore, over the continental shelves, island terraces, and in passes and lagoons. Nomadic and migratory. Feeds on small bony fishes, crabs and squid, also on other sharks, rays, and lobsters. Viviparous, with 13 to 38 young in a litter. Size at birth 50 to 70 cm. Potentially dangerous. Meat utilized for human consumption, liver oil for vitamins, fins for soup, and hides for leather.

Reference

Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2023). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (02/2023).

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Diet

provided by World Register of Marine Species
Feeds on stingrays and other batoids, groupers and sea catfishes, but also preys on other small bony fishes, crabs, squid, other sharks, rays, and lobsters

Reference

North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

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Distribution

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North Carolina to Uruguay (highly migratory species)

Reference

North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

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Habitat

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Found at depths of 1 - 300m.

Reference

North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

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Habitat

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nektonic

Reference

North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

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