Australia country information

Common names: Hammerhead shark, Kidney-headed shark, Scalloped hammerhead
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: From North West Cape to Darwin (Ref. 5978) and from Queensland and New South Wales (Ref. 7300). Recorded from Shark Bay (Ref. 115274). Also Ref. 244, 2334, 13562.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Hoese, D.F., D.J. Bray, J.R. Paxton and G.R. Allen, 2006
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Requin-marteau halicorne, Cornuda común, Bronze hammerhead shark, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks)
Etymology: Sphyrna: Probable misspelling of sphyra (Gr.), hammer, referring to their hammer-shaped heads. (See ETYFish); lewini: Patronym not identified, perhaps in honor of John Lewin (1770-1819), who illustrated early volumes of Australian natural history (this shark was described from Australia) and may be the “Mr. Lewin” who illustrated the plates in Griffith and Smith’s book. (See ETYFish).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1043 m (Ref. 89972), usually 0 - 25 m (Ref. 26999). Tropical; 46°N - 39°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal in coastal warm temperate and tropical seas (Ref. 13562). Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA to Uruguay (Ref. 58839), including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: western Mediterranean (Ref. 6678) to Namibia (Ref. 6812). Indo-Pacific: Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964), Red Sea, East Africa and throughout the Indian Ocean; Japan to New Caledonia, Hawaii and Tahiti. Eastern Pacific: southern California, USA to Ecuador, probably Peru.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 210.5, range 140 - 273 cm
Max length : 430 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26938); common length : 360 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13562); max. published weight: 152.4 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 35 years (Ref. 31395)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. This hammerhead shark is distinguished by having the following characters: large, moderately slender body; broad, narrow bladed head, arched anterior margin with prominent median indentation and lateral indentation; nostrils with strong prenarial grooves; hind margins of eyes slightly posterior to or nearly opposite front of mouth; teeth triangular, deeply notched posteriorly, with smooth or finely serrated edges; first dorsal fin moderately high, second dorsal and pectoral fins low; upper precaudal pit transverse crescentric. Colour of body light grey or greyish brown above, shading to white below, pectoral fin tips dusky and a dark blotch on lower caudal fin lobe (Ref. 13562, 114967).

A coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic shark occurring over continental and insular shelves and adjacent deep water, often approaching close inshore and entering enclosed bays and estuaries (Ref. 244, 11230, 58302). Found in inshore and offshore waters to about 275 m depth (Ref. 26938, 11230, 58302); has been filmed at a baited camera in 512 m depth (Lis Maclaren, pers. comm. 2005). Huge schools of small migrating individuals move pole ward in the summer in certain areas (Ref. 244). Permanent resident populations also exist (Ref. 244). Juveniles occur in coastal areas (Ref. 58784). Adults solitary, in pairs, or schools; young in large schools (Ref. 13562). Feed mainly on teleost fishes and cephalopods (Ref. 6871), also lobsters, shrimps, crabs (Ref. 30573), including other sharks and rays (Ref. 37816). Viviparous (Ref. 50449). Mature females produce 15-31, of 43-55 cm young in a litter (Ref. 26938, 1602). Considered potentially dangerous to people but often not aggressive when approached by divers (Ref. 13562). Readily available to inshore artisanal and small commercial fisheries as well as to offshore operations (Ref. 13562). Sold fresh, dried-salted, smoked and frozen; also sought for its fins and hides (Ref. 9987). Oil used for vitamins and carcasses for fishmeal (Ref. 13562). Maximum depth from Ref. 125614.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449), with 13-23 in a litter (Ref. 6871); 12-41 pups after a gestation period of 9-10 months (Ref.58048). Size at birth 45-50 cm TL (Ref. 13562); 39-57 cm TL (Ref.58048).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Critically Endangered (CR) (A2bd); Date assessed: 08 November 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

Other (Ref. 13562)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology
Home ranges

Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths

Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities

Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.

Outreach
Collaborators

Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures

References
References

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 18.7 - 29, mean 27.2 (based on 2890 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5029 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00355 (0.00281 - 0.00449), b=3.10 (3.03 - 3.17), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.1 ±0.5 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (rm=0.028; K=0.05-0.24; tm=3-15; tmax=41.6; Fec=13-23).

Prior r = 0.06, 95% CL = 0.04 - 0.09, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (78 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): High vulnerability (62 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)