Scalloped hammerhead

Sphyrna lewini

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Critically endangered

Usual depth3–31 m
Water temperature14–29 °C
Best monthsMarch and August
How commonCommon

About this species

The scalloped hammerhead is a species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. It was originally known as Zygaena lewini. The Greek word sphyrna translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head, which is its most distinguishing characteristic. The shark's eyes and nostrils are at the tips of the extensions. It is a fairly large hammerhead, but is still smaller than both the great and smooth hammerheads.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Scalloped hammerhead”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 63 records
February: 100 records
March: 199 records
April: 93 records
May: 114 records
June: 105 records
July: 48 records
August: 280 records
September: 61 records
October: 78 records
November: 108 records
December: 117 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–31 m · Deepest record: 314 m

0–10 m: 217 records
10–20 m: 253 records
20–30 m: 191 records
30–40 m: 62 records
40–50 m: 8 records
50–60 m: 7 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 6 records
80–90 m: 7 records
90–100 m: 9 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 15 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–29 °C

12–14 °C: 9 records
14–16 °C: 23 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 27 records
24–26 °C: 39 records
26–28 °C: 81 records
28–30 °C: 39 records

Names and classification

English: Scalloped hammerhead, Bronze hammerhead shark, gebuchteter Hammerhai, Hammer-head Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Kidney-headed Shark, scalloped hammerhead, Scalloped Hammerhead, Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, Southern hammerhead shark

Names in 7 more languages

German: Bogenstirn-Hammerhai, gekerbter Hammerhai, Wellenkopf-Hammerhai
Spanish: Cachona, Cornúa, cornuda, cornuda común, Cornuda común, Cornuda negra, tiburón martillo, Tiburón Martillo Común
French: Requin marteau à festons, Requin-marteau halicorne
Indonesian: Hiu martil
Japanese: Akashumokuzame, アカシュモクザメ
Thai: ปลาฉลามหัวค้อนสีเงิน
Simplified Chinese: 犛頭沙, 紅肉丫髻鮫, 紅肉雙髻, 路易氏丫髻鯊, 路易氏雙髻鯊, 路氏雙髻鯊, 雙過仔, 雙髻鯊

Other scientific names: Cestracion leeuwenii, Cestracion oceanica, Sphyrna diplana, Sphyrna leweni, Zygaena erythraea, Zygaena indica, Zygaena 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).
4,315 open-data records from 1834 to 2025.

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