When was the hammerhead shark discovered

It inhabits deep waters, to depths of m, shallow lagoons and coral reefs and and is considered an upper-trophic level consumer. Due to its known long-range movements it is likely an important mobile link species between ecosystems playing a major part in the functioning, structure, and stability of these systems. They can be observed in ocean waters anywhere between latitudes of 40 N and 37 S. The species is found dwelling in continental shelves throughout the Indian ocean.

They are known to migrate long distances km in 62 days but little is known about their migratory patterns. Bridging large travelling distances, they can swim on one of its sides. This swimming method is called rolled swimming, where the shark rolls to its side and continues swimming forward. This posture reduces drag and conserves energy while the large dorsal fin is used to obtain lift.

Great Hammerheads may use the rolled swimming method very often in order to keep their energy consumption rate under control. Litter size ranges from 6 to 42 pups after 11 months' gestation. The size at birth is between 50 to 70 cm with females breeding once every two years. Pups are born in late spring to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and between December and January off Australia.

There is no parental involvement after birth. To date, no Great Hammerhead nurseries have been discovered in French Polynesia, although the presence of large females at high intensity period in Rangiroa matches the calving period established in Australia. It is a solitary species. Very little is known about their social behaviour in key steps of their life circle migration, reproduction, growth.

This wide range of distribution provides a variety of potential prey for the Great Hammerheads. They consume sting rays, crabs, squids, small bony fishes like sardines, catfish, croackers and box fish and are highly opportunistic animals.

They have also been spotted feeding on smaller sharks such as Grey Reef Sharks Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos and Blacktip Sharks Carcharhinus limbatus , especially in the Tuamotu. Just think of the bragging rights. That was me, a few years ago… never in a thousand years did I think I would be lucky enough to see one…. Hammerheads are the most unique shark in the ocean.

They have an unusual and distinctive flat T-shaped head cephalofoil , with the eyes located on the ends of the tips. They also have an extra tall pointed dorsal fins. They really stand out! In actuality, there are 10 species of hammerhead sharks. They get their name because their pups grow up in, you guessed it, Carolina.

As they get older their range expands, although they stay in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Carolina Hammerhead Phote by Barry Peters. Most hammerheads are quite small, but sizing ranges from 3 to 20 ft 0. The largest of course is… the Great Hammerhead. Hammerheads belong to the Sphyrnidae family and there are 10 species.

Hammerheads are considered one of the most recently evolved groups of sharks, dating back in the fossil record to at least the 23 million years ago, with some authorities believing they emerged as early as 56 million years ago. That is crazy old. They can obtain sizes around 4 meters in length. Scalloped hammerheads are often found in large schools, as in the Galapagos examples in the next section.

These sharks mainly eat fish and are considered harmless to humans. Unfortunately, populations of Scalloped Hammerheads have greatly diminished over the years mainly due to overfishing. This image shows William "Trey" Driggers handling a Carolina hammerhead. This newly discovered shark species, found off the coast of South Carolina, was named in It is considered a cryptic species, as it looks identical to the Scalloped hammerhead shark.

The only exception is that it has 10 less vertebra and is genetically different. In Dr. Carter R. Gilbert reported a Scalloped hammerhead with 10 less vertebrae than normal. After this description in , no other research occured until thing else happened until , when J.

Quattro, et al. This second species, S. So, like the scalloped hammerhead, the populations of this hammerhead shark are also assumed to have severely diminished.

Quattro published a paper describing this specimen in Link to the Paper. The Smooth hammerhead has a cephalofoil that does not contain an indentation in the front center, and the sides have a hammer like shape.

They can grow up to 5 meters in length and have a near global distribution in temperate waters. The Smooth hammerhead feeds on fish. It is one of the more common sharks in temperate waters and is unfortunately sought after for its fins for use in shark fin soup.

This is one of the smaller hammerhead shark species. Adults only grow up to 1. The cephalofoil is distinctive and looks like a spade shovel. This image shows a Bonnethead Hammerhead Shark. Notice the small size, and distinctly different shaped Cephalofoil.

This shark was released after the images were taken. Image by: theSuperStar. The Bonnethead is another very small hammerhead shark. It also grows to around 1. Along the Eastern Pacific, it's range extends into southern California. The small Bonnethead shark feeds on mainly crustaceans from the sea bottom.

This is an X-ray of a Winghead hammerhead shark. Notice the huge cephalofoil. Copyright: C. It has an extreme cephalofoil; it is very long and slender, which looks like airplane wings. The Winghead is a somewhat smaller and slender hammerhead that can reach sizes of around 1. The Winghead inhabits tropical waters from the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean to northern Australia. The Galapagos islands are famously known for Darwin and the amazing endemic land fauna.

However, because of severe fishing restrictions around these remote islands, the waters around the Galapagos are completely undisturbed. These waters have become one of the worlds premier dive sites to see large pelagic fauna, specifically sharks and rays.

I was fortunate enough to dive in the Galapagos Islands and experience the fauna first hand. Amung the many large fish, rays, and sea turtles, were Scalloped hammerhead sharks. Around Wolf islands and Darwin Arch, these dosile sharks school in the 's.

This should truly be on the bucketlist for anyone interested in these beautiful creatures. I borrowed a dive buddys camera for a few dives and snapped these shots. Click on an image to see it full sized. As an educator, I get to sort through many educational books and supplies.

Below are my two recommendations:. It is written in a story format of a diver that swims with schools of hammerheads in the Cocos Islands. It goes over the different types of hammerheads, their behavior, and conservation, all in an interesting story. The book is also chalk full of colorful photos of hammerhead sharks.

This is one of the better Educational books, and can be used in the classroom or at home. You simply mix the ingredients, pour it into the molds, let it dry then paint them! The kit includes casts of a Great White, Hammerhead, and Thresher shark. An illustrated information packet is included that goes over fun facts and the differences between the three sharks.