DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Arrowhead
Eusphyra blochii
- Usual depth1–17 m
- Water temperature25–29 °C
- Best monthsJune, October, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) CSIRO National fish Collection, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The winghead shark is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. It is the sole member of the genus Eusphyra. Reaching a length of 1.9 m (6.2 ft), this small brown to gray shark has a slender body with a tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin. Its name comes from its exceptionally large "hammer", or cephalofoil, which can be as wide as half of the shark's total length. The function of this structure is unclear, but may relate to the shark's senses. The wide spacing of its eyes grants superb binocular vision, while the extremely long nostrils on the leading margin of the cephalofoil may allow for better detection and tracking of odor trails in the water. The cephalofoil also provides a large surface area for its ampullae of Lorenzini and lateral line, with potential benefits for electroreception and mechanoreception, respectively.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Winghead shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 6 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 5 records
- May: 12 records
- June: 27 records
- July: 12 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 16 records
- October: 22 records
- November: 30 records
- December: 12 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–17 m · Deepest record: 25 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Arrowhead, Arrow headed hammerhead, Arrow-headed hammer-head, Arrowhead Shark, Slender Hammerhead, winghead shark
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Flügelkopf-Hammerhai
- Spanish
- Cornuda planeadora, Tiburón cabeza de flecha
- Filipino
- Pating
- French
- Requin marteau planeur, Requin-marteau planeur
- Japanese
- インドシュモクザメ
- Thai
- ปลาฉลามหัวค้อนยาว
Other scientific names: Cestracion blochi, Eusphyrna blochi, Eusphyrna blochii, Sphyrna blochii, Zygaena blochii, Zygaena latycephala
Similar species
Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewini
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 190 open-data records from 1816 to 2016.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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