Great hammerhead shark
Sphyrna mokarran
- Scientific name
- Sphyrna mokarran
- Group
- Sharks & Rays
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea, Caribbean & Tropical Atlantic
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Critically endangered
Did you know?
The great hammerhead is the largest of all hammerhead sharks, sometimes exceeding 5 meters, and often preys on stingrays, pinning them to the seafloor with its head. Its unusually tall, curved dorsal fin sets it apart from other hammerhead species.
What defines this group — Sharks & Rays
The cartilaginous fish: not a single bone in the body, a skeleton made entirely of cartilage.
- A cartilage skeleton, lighter and more flexible than bone.
- No gill cover: five to seven gill slits open on the sides or underneath.
- Pores on the snout — the ampullae of Lorenzini — pick up the electric field of prey.
Other species in this group
- Common stingray
- Blacktip reef shark
- Small-spotted catshark
- Common torpedo ray
- Bluespotted ribbontail ray
- Thornback ray