Hammerhead - Scalloped

Up to 14 ft, generally under 7 ft. Averages around 100 pounds; can reach 200 or more.

Family	Sphyrnidae
Description	Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks
Environment	Brackish & Marine
Etymology	Greek, sphyra = hammer
Genus	2
No. of Species	10
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Class	Elasmobranchii
Reproductive Guild	Bearers
Distribution	Marine, coastal; occasionally in brackish water. Distribution: global (chiefly warm waters). Head laterally expanded, with eyes and nasal openings much wider set than in other sharks. The blades presumably server to increase the sharks' sensory capabilities. No spiracle. A maximum length of 4.5 m was reported for Sphyrna tudes. They feed on a wide variety of bony fish, elasmobranchs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and other prey. Young born fully developed. Potentially dangerous.

Open ocean, mostly, but commonly ventures close to the beaches and sometimes into large bays. Adults live off shore and come into shallower waters of Hilo Bay, Kaneohe Bay, Waimea Bay and other areas in Hawaii to pup – juveniles tracked in Kaneohe Bay stay near the bottom in deeper areas. A coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic shark occurring over continental and insular shelves and adjacent deep water, often approaching close inshore and entering enclosed bays and estuaries. Found in inshore and offshore waters to about 275 m depth; has been filmed at a baited camera in 512 m depth. Huge schools of small migrating individuals move pole ward in the summer in certain areas. Permanent resident populations also exist. Juveniles occur in coastal areas. Adults solitary, in pairs, or schools; young in large schools. Feed mainly on teleost fishes and cephalopods, also lobsters, shrimps, crabs, including other sharks and rays. Viviparous. Mature females produce 15-31, of 43-55 cm young in a litter. Considered potentially dangerous to people but often not aggressive when approached by divers. Readily available to inshore artisanal and small commercial fisheries as well as to offshore operations

Gray with flattened hammer-like head with a central indentation There are 9 different species of Hammerheads: Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) Winghead Shark Scalloped Bonnethead Whitefin Hammerhead Scoophead Bonnethead Smalleye Hammerhead Smooth Hammerhead Hammerhead sharks are consummate predators that use their oddly shaped heads to improve their ability to find prey. Their wide-set eyes give them a better visual range than most other sharks. And by spreading their highly specialized sensory organs over their wide, mallet-shaped head, they can more thoroughly scan the ocean for food. One group of sensory organs is the ampullae of Lorenzini, which allows sharks to detect, among other things, the electrical fields created by prey animals. The hammerhead's increased ampullae sensitivity allows it to find its favorite meal, stingrays, which usually bury themselves under the sand. The great hammerhead is the largest of the nine identified species of this shark. It can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) in length and weigh up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg), although smaller sizes are more common. Found in temperate and tropical waters worldwide, far offshore and near shorelines, hammerheads are often seen in mass summer migrations seeking cooler water. They are gray-brown to olive-green on top with off-white undersides, and they have heavily serrated, triangular teeth. Their extra-tall, pointed dorsal fins are easily identifiable. Most hammerhead species are fairly small and are considered harmless to humans. However, the great hammerhead's enormous size and fierceness make it potentially dangerous, though few attacks have been recorded. The squat-headed hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) and the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) are listed as endangered and the smalleye hammerhead (Sphyrna tudes) and thesmooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena)are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Hammerheads use their wide heads to attack stingrays, pinning the winged fish against the sea floor.

Viviparous, placental, with 13-23 in a litter; 12-41 pups after a gestation period of 9-10 months. Size at birth 45-50 cm TL; 39-57 cm TL

Summary of Distribution: Circumglobal in coastal warm temperate and tropical seas. Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA to Uruguay, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: western Mediterranean to Namibia. Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf, Red Sea, East Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean; Japan to New Caledonia, Hawaii and Tahiti. Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to Ecuador, probably Peru.
Note: Distribution range colors indicate degree of suitability of habitat which can be interpreted as probabilities of occurrence (fishbase.org)

Live or fresh-dead baitfish will be the most eagerly accepted.

Available Sizes: 15 in. - 144 in. Details: Fired-Enamel Glass Eye Poses: Multiple Poses Available Optinal Coating: UV Inhibitive Polyurethane Outdoor Coating