The wide head of hammerhead sharks actually helps them see and sense prey better than most sharks. They even capture their favorite meal, stingrays, by pinning them to the ocean floor with their heads.
Unlike many fish, hammerheads do not lay eggs. A female gives birth to live young. One litter can range from six to about 50 pups.
Facts about Hammerhead Sharks:
This shark's unusual name comes from the unusual shape of its head, an amazing piece of anatomy built to maximize the fish's ability to find its favorite meal: stingrays. A hammerhead shark uses its wide head to trap stingrays by pinning them to the seafloor. The shark's eye placement, on each end of its very wide head, allows it to scan more area more quickly than other sharks can.
The hammerhead also has special sensors across its head that helps it scan for food in the ocean. Living creatures' bodies give off electrical signals, which are picked up by sensors on the prowling hammerhead. The shark hunts alone, and can find stingrays that hide under the sand on the seafloor. Hammerheads also eat bony fishes, crabs, squid, lobsters, and other sea creatures.
There are nine species of hammerhead sharks. The great hammerhead is the largest, and typically measures about 13 feet (four meters) long and weighs about 500 pounds (227 kilograms). Great hammerheads live in most warm ocean waters throughout the world.
The upper sides of these fish are grayish-brown or olive-green and they have white bellies. They have very impressive triangular, serrated teeth—like the edge of a saw's blade. Hammerheads' mouths are on the underside of their heads.
Unlike many fish, hammerheads do not lay eggs. A female gives birth to live young. One litter can range from six to about 50 pups. When a hammerhead pup is born, its head is more rounded than its parents'. Youngsters face predators, including other sharks, but once they reach their full size there are not many predators that would take them on. Adults do not have any significant enemies.
There have been very few recorded attacks on people by the great hammerhead. Its reputation is as a shark that is dangerous but not very aggressive. It's so big and such a fierce predator, however, that people tend to want to avoid swimming with these fish.
Text by Catherine D. Hughes
FAST FACTS The scientific genus name of hammerhead sharks is Sphyma, which comes from the Greek word for hammer.
Sphyma mokarran is the scientific name of the great hammerhead shark.
A wild hammerhead shark can live for 20 to 30 years.
A group of sharks is called a school or a shoal.
Scientists believe that hammerhead shark populations are stable and healthy. The fish are not considered to be endangered.
Hammerheads live in moderate and tropical waters. They're found in both shallow and deep waters. During summer, large migrations of these sharks can be seen swimming together in search of cooler waters.
There are more than 360 species of sharks. Sharks belong to a group of fish that also includes rays and skates. These fish do not have bones. Instead, their bodies are supported by cartilage, like the cartilage you can feel in the tip of your nose.