Scalloped hammerhead

Taxobox
name = Scalloped hammerhead
status = EN
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = [cite press release |title=More oceanic sharks added to the IUCN Red List |publisher=IUCN |date=2007-02-22 |url=http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2007/02/22_pr_sharks.htm |format= |language= |accessdate=2007-02-25 |quote= The status of scalloped hammerhead shark was heightened from "Near Threatened" to "Endangered". ]

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image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Chondrichthyes
subclassis = Elasmobranchii
ordo = Carcharhiniformes
familia = Sphyrnidae
genus = "Sphyrna"
species = "S. lewini"
binomial = "Sphyrna lewini"
binomial_authority = (Griffith & Hamilton Smith, 1834)

The scalloped hammerhead, "Sphyrna lewini", is a hammerhead shark of the family Sphyrnidae. Originally "Zygaena lewini", it was later moved to its current name. The Greek word "sphyrna" translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head.

This shark is also known as the bronze, kidney-headed or southern hammerhead. It primarily lives in warm temperate and tropical coastal waters all around the globe between latitudes 46° N and 36° S, down to a depth of 300 m. It is the most common of all hammerheads.

Anatomy and appearance

The most distinguishing characteristic of this shark, as in all hammerheads, is the 'hammer' on its head. The shark's eyes and nostrils are at the tips of the extensions.The maximum length of the scalloped hammerhead is 4.3 m and the maximum weight 150 kg.

Behavior

This shark is often seen during the day in big schools, sometimes numbering hundreds. They are not considered dangerous and are normally not aggressive towards humans.

Diet

This shark feeds primarily on fish such as sardines, mackerel and herring, and occasionally on cephalopods such as squid and octopus. Larger specimens may also feed on smaller species of shark such as the blacktip reef shark, "Carcharhinus melanopterus".

Reproduction

Viviparous, producing 15 to 31 pups in a litter, measuring 43 to 55 cm.

ee also

* List of sharks

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is near threatened
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*

External links

* ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/fish/Sphyrna_lewini/ images and movies of the scalloped hammerhead "(Sphyrna lewini)"]
* [http://www.sharkinfo.ch/SI2_00e/slewini.html Shark Info page about the scalloped hammerhead]