Wildlife
Hammerhead sharks are recognisable for their bizarre head shape which is thought to make the shark more sensitive to electrical signals used to detect hidden prey. There are ten species of hammerhead. The family also includes the bonnethead sharks and the winghead shark.
Scientific name: Sphyrna
Rank: Genus
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A stingray's nightmare
Even venomous barbs can't keep stingrays safe from the hammerhead's super senses.
Even venomous barbs can't keep stingrays safe from the hammerhead's super senses.
Ocean crossroads
Hundreds of hammerhead sharks and other species gather at the Humboldt current.
Hundreds of hammerhead sharks and other species gather at the Humboldt current.
Dolphin defenders
A dolphin family protects a newborn calf from a shark attack.
A dolphin family protects a newborn calf from a shark attack.
Electric predator
The unique shape of the hammerhead shark explained.
The unique shape of the hammerhead shark explained.
The Hammerhead sharks can be found in a number of locations including: Great Barrier Reef. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Hammerhead sharks distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the winghead shark is placed in its own genus, Eusphyra. Many not necessarily mutually exclusive functions have been proposed for the cephalofoil, including sensory reception, maneuvering, and prey manipulation. Hammerheads are found worldwide in warmer waters along coastlines and continental shelves. Unlike most sharks, hammerheads usually swim in schools during the day, becoming solitary hunters at night. Some of these schools can be found near Malpelo Island in Colombia, Cocos Island off Costa Rica, and near Molokai Island in Hawaii. Large schools are also seen in southern and eastern Africa.
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