Want to join a Hammerhead Shark Conservation program? Join our friends at Turtle Island Restoration Network on a 10-Day Expedition at Cocos Island. This means that it doesnt have bones like we do. Mozambique, Maldives, Tahiti, the Bahamas, Japan and Malaysia are also popular places to see Hammerhead Sharks. The hammerhead shark, like other sharks, is a cartilaginous fish. You may also see them off the coast of Costa Rica at Cocos Island. They are most commonly found in schools around the islands of Darwin and Wolf in the Galapagos. Wondering where are the best places to see Hammerhead Sharks in the wild?Īs shown in the Hammerhead Shark Habitat Map, Hammerhead Sharks of different species can be observed in warm waters around the world. These schools are often observed in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands. In contrast, the Scalloped Hammerhead might live in schools of up to 100 others. Think of a Great Hammerhead Shark as a “lone wolf”.
When they locate their prey, they use their heads as a sort of “hammer” to press them to the ocean floor. They have sensors in their heads that pick up electric pulses of living things. Hammerhead Sharks have uniquely shaped heads, which allows them to search for food much easier than other species of sharks. It is very rare to find Hammerhead Sharks in the deep ocean, as they prefer to be in warm waters, on coastlines and continental shelves.
When looking at the above Hammerhead Shark Habitat Map, take a minute to notice how closely they stay to land. We still do not know why they choose to live in schools during the day.Exploring the Hammerhead Shark Habitat Map There seems to be an established order of dominance in every school, where the “rank” of each individual shark is determined by size, age and sex. They only school during the day and always spend the nights separated from each other. Hammerheads can sometimes form schools that contain up to 500 individuals, which is very unusual for sharks. They are particularly found of rays and will use its “hammer” to hold the ray down while slowly eating away on the wings bite by bite. They are capable predators and eat primarily fish, rays, crustaceans, cephalopods but also other sharks. The Great Hammerhead shark migrates to cooler waters during the summer season. The sharks are commonly seen in the upper part of the so called mesopelagic zone the drop-off adjacent to the continental shelf. They are found all over the globe in warm tropical and subtropical waters along continental shelves and coastlines. This larger sensor area would give the Hammerhead shark an advantage when scanning for food. The entire head is equipped with sensors, and might be hammer-shaped in order to provide a larger area for the sensors. Some scientists believe that the shape evolved gradually over numerous generations, while others suggest that it was a sudden mutation that rapidly proved to be an advantage. Hammerhead sharks are one of the easiest sharks to identify, thanks to their hammer-shaped heads, and diving with these sharks is one of the best shark.
Scalloped hammerheads are estimated to have lost up to 80 of their original population in QLD waters (. Two main theories regarding its development continue to develop. Australian hammerhead shark populations are in decline. The unusual and oddly shaped head of the Hammerhead shark has given raise to a lot of speculation. This provides enough buoyancy for the Hammerhead to graciously float in the water rather than swim while scanning the bottom floor for their next meal. The liver of a Hammerhead shark is filled with oil that has a lower density than water. They save energy by not swimming around a lot. Their growth rate is therefore also very slow. A spiral shape intestinal valve means that the food will pass through the intestines at a very slow pace, making it impossible for Hammerhead sharks to eat often.
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family “Sphyrnidae,” named after its unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a shape of a “hammer” called a “cephalofoil.”Īll Hammerhead shark species belong to the order of Carcharhiniformes, meaning they are ground sharks with one anal fin and two dorsal fins. The hammerhead is useful in finding prey that hides in the sand. It’s uniquely shaped head makes it a one of a kind for any angler. About the Great Hammerhead Shark The great hammerhead is the largest hammerhead in the world. The Hammerhead shark is the most unique shark in the ocean.