Great Hammerhead Shark

Sphyrna mokarran

The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest hammerhead shark and a powerful coastal predator in warm-temperate and tropical seas. It spends much of its time along continental shelves, reef edges, and coastal drop-offs, but it can also move offshore.

Mass (typical / record)

230 kg

Top speed

—

Body length

3.7 m

Diet

Carnivore

Habitats

coastal waters, continental shelves, coral reefs

IUCN: CR (Critically Endangered)

Their unmistakable cephalofoil head, which can measure a third of their body length, has made them icons of marine biology. Listed on CITES Appendix II and targeted for fins, their collapse would remove a key reef predator.