Hammerhead Shark

Common name - hammerhead shark ('Scalloped' or 'Southern')

Scientific name - sphyrna lewini

Size - average body length of between 2 - 2.5 meters

Identification tips - easily identified by the unique 'T' shaped head, giving the appearance of a hammer. Body is a grey-brown color, darker at the top fading to an almost white underbelly. The pectoral fins have dark grey or black tips to them, as can have the small lower half of the tail fin. The upper half of the tail fin is elongated and swept back.

Preferred habitat - tropical and warm-temperate waters, often closer to shore than off-shore. They favor reef environments and will often be found cruising over submarine shelves, especially close to the drop off.

Diet - primarily smaller fish such as sardines, mackerel and herring. Adults will seek out octopus, squid and cuttlefish, but any feeding opportunity will not be overlooked.

Breeding - large litters of between 10 and 35 pups are born in the summer months, in shallower warmer inshore waters. The pups are born after around a 10 month gestation period, having hatched inside the mother from a placenta yolk sac.

Other points - Scalloped hammerhead sharks are the most common of all hammerhead species, and appear along the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef. The best place for divers to experience them is along shelf drop offs, where the sharks can be seen cruising the waters.
Although generally considered to be a dangerous shark species, hammerheads will avoid human contact first but can become aggressive if scared or threatened.

For more information about the Animals of the Great Barrier Reef take a look at our pages on the Animals of the Reef; the Endangered Animals of the Reef; and the Dangerous Great Barrier Reef Animals.