HAMMERHEAD SHARK

Sphyrna  mokarran

English: Great Hammerhead
Spanish: cornuda de ley, cornuda gigante, cornuda, el tiburon, pez martillo, tiburon.

The nine known species range from 0.9 to 6 m (3.0 to 20 ft) long and weigh from 500 to 1000 pounds. They are usually light gray and have a greenish tint to them. Their bellies are white which allows them to be close to the bottom of the ocean and blend in to sneak up on their prey. Their heads have lateral projections which give them a hammer-like shape.

The average great hammerhead shark is up to 11.5 feet (3.5 m) long. The largest reported was 20 feet (6 m) long. These large sharks average about over 500 pounds (230 kg) but can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kg).

Great hammerheads are coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic sharks, found close inshore and well offshore, over the continental shelves, island terraces, and in passes and lagoons. They occur widely throughout the world's oceans in depths ranging from 1-300m.

Hammerhead sharks are known to inhabit the waters off of both coasts of Mexico.

 

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