Scalloped hammerhead shark
Sphyrna lewini
- Scientific name
- Sphyrna lewini
- Group
- Sharks & Rays
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Critically endangered
Did you know?
The scalloped hammerhead shark sometimes gathers in schools of several hundred individuals near seamounts, an unusual behavior for a shark. Its distinctively shaped head, called a cephalofoil, enhances its electrical sensing and gives it wraparound vision.
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