| Family: |
Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks) |
| Max. size: |
6.45 cm TL (male/unsexed); 10.3 cm TL (female) |
| Environment: |
reef-associated; brackish; marine |
| Distribution: |
Western Pacific: Belize to Brazil; including Panama, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago. S. tiburo from North Carolina, U.S to Belize have potential contact zone with S. alleni between Mexico and Belize (Yucatan Peninsula). |
| Diagnosis: |
This small hammerhead shark (<150 cm at maturity) is distinguished by the following characters: a flat, shovel shaped head without indentations on its anterior edge; cephalofoil anterior margin is pointed (like a triangle) in both sexes and the posterior margins are lobule shaped; anterior margin of males exhibits a pronounced bulge; with enlarged, molariform posterior teeth, the first
dorsal rear tip in front of pelvic origins, and shallowly concave posterior anal margin.; differs from S. tiburo with anterior margin of the head more rounded and the lobules on the posterior margin are not present; precaudal vertebral counts 80-83 (ca.10 more vertebrae than S. tiburo) (Ref. 132488). |
| Biology: |
Occurs in coastal waters, estuaries, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand bottoms (Ref. 132488). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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