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Animal profile

Scalloped Hammerhead

Sphyrna lewini

ChondrichthyesCoastal and semi-oceanic waters over continental shelves, seamounts and island slopesCritically Endangered

Field profile

The scalloped hammerhead is named for the notched leading edge of its cephalofoil, the flattened head that gives hammerheads their outline. It forms large daytime schools around seamounts and disperses at night to feed. Juveniles use shallow coastal bays as nurseries.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-01-10

Scalloped Hammerhead

The hammerhead's head spreads its senses wider

The cephalofoil is not a hammer. Widening the head separates the nostrils and stretches the array of electroreceptive pores across a broader surface, improving the shark's ability to localise odour and the faint electric fields of buried prey.

Read with evidence →

Scalloped Hammerhead | Daily Animal Facts