Common names from other countries

Requin-marteau halicorne, Cornuda común, Bronze hammerhead shark, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks)
Etymology: Sphyrna: Probable misspelling of sphyra (Gr.), hammer, referring to their hammer-shaped heads. (See ETYFish); lewini: Patronym not identified, perhaps in honor of John Lewin (1770-1819), who illustrated early volumes of Australian natural history (this shark was described from Australia) and may be the “Mr. Lewin” who illustrated the plates in Griffith and Smith’s book. (See ETYFish).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1043 m (Ref. 89972), usually 0 - 25 m (Ref. 26999). Tropical; 46°N - 39°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal in coastal warm temperate and tropical seas (Ref. 13562). Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA to Uruguay (Ref. 58839), including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: western Mediterranean (Ref. 6678) to Namibia (Ref. 6812). Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), 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.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 210.5, range 140 - 273 cm
Max length : 430 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26938); common length : 360 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13562); max. published weight: 152.4 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 35 years (Ref. 31395)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. This hammerhead shark is distinguished by having the following characters: large, moderately slender body; broad, narrow bladed head, arched anterior margin with prominent median indentation and lateral indentation; nostrils with strong prenarial grooves; hind margins of eyes slightly posterior to or nearly opposite front of mouth; teeth triangular, deeply notched posteriorly, with smooth or finely serrated edges; first dorsal fin moderately high, second dorsal and pectoral fins low; upper precaudal pit transverse crescentric. Colour of body light grey or greyish brown above, shading to white below, pectoral fin tips dusky and a dark blotch on lower caudal fin lobe (Ref. 13562, 114967).

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 (Ref. 244, 11230, 58302). Found in inshore and offshore waters to about 275 m depth (Ref. 26938, 11230, 58302); has been filmed at a baited camera in 512 m depth (Lis Maclaren, pers. comm. 2005). Huge schools of small migrating individuals move pole ward in the summer in certain areas (Ref. 244). Permanent resident populations also exist (Ref. 244). Juveniles occur in coastal areas (Ref. 58784). Adults solitary, in pairs, or schools; young in large schools (Ref. 13562). Feed mainly on teleost fishes and cephalopods (Ref. 6871), also lobsters, shrimps, crabs (Ref. 30573), including other sharks and rays (Ref. 37816). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Mature females produce 15-31, of 43-55 cm young in a litter (Ref. 26938, 1602). Considered potentially dangerous to people but often not aggressive when approached by divers (Ref. 13562). Readily available to inshore artisanal and small commercial fisheries as well as to offshore operations (Ref. 13562). Sold fresh, dried-salted, smoked and frozen; also sought for its fins and hides (Ref. 9987). Oil used for vitamins and carcasses for fishmeal (Ref. 13562). Maximum depth from Ref. 125614.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449), with 13-23 in a litter (Ref. 6871); 12-41 pups after a gestation period of 9-10 months (Ref.58048). Size at birth 45-50 cm TL (Ref. 13562); 39-57 cm TL (Ref.58048).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bd); Date assessed: 08 November 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

Other (Ref. 13562)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 18.7 - 29, mean 27.2 (based on 2890 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5029 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00281 - 0.00449), b=3.10 (3.03 - 3.17), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.1 ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (rm=0.028; K=0.05-0.24; tm=3-15; tmax=41.6; Fec=13-23).

Prior r = 0.06, 95% CL = 0.04 - 0.09, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (78 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): High vulnerability (62 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)