Top 10 Facts About Hammerhead Sharks

Shark Week has come up, and here is one of my favorite species of sharks.

The Top Ten

  1. There are nine species of hammerhead sharks in the world

    These include: scalloped hammerheads, great hammerheads, smalleye hammerheads, Carolina hammerheads, white-finned hammerheads, scoophead, scalloped bonnethead, and bonnethead. Studies also suggest there may be more species out there that we simply have not found yet.

    Wow. I thought there was just one.

  2. Hammerhead sharks use their heads to aid in hunting by pinning and sensing prey

    They'll usually use their heads to ram into prey or pin them down, like a hammer would do.

    That's why their heads are funny-shaped.

  3. Hammerhead sharks aren't affected by stingray barbs

    Hammerheads actually can and will actively kill and eat stingrays. Some sharks have even been found with stingray barbs still in them.

  4. The "hammer" part of the shark's head is called the cephalofoil

    Their heads help them navigate and find food, and even give them excellent depth perception and binocular vision.

  5. Some hammerhead species travel in large schools

    Hammerheads often travel in schools of up to 500 individuals, mostly during the day. At night, they often split up and go solo until daytime.

    I didn't know sharks travel in schools.

  6. Hammerhead sharks have nearly 360-degree vertical vision, though they can't see directly in front of their snout

    The position of one eye at each end of their head allows them to see everything around them all the time, giving a complete 360-degree range of vision.

    A lot of animals (mostly herbivores) have eyes on the sides of their heads and can't see in front of them.

  7. Baby hammerhead sharks are called pups

  8. Hammerhead sharks have around 37 to 50 teeth, depending on the species

    Still not as many as whale sharks, which aren't even sharks.

  9. Hammerhead sharks typically live around 20 to 30 years in the wild

    That's a long time for a sea creature.

  10. The bonnethead shark is the smallest species of hammerhead shark

    The great hammerhead shark can grow to be ten to fifteen meters long and three meters wide.

    The biggest is the great hammerhead.

    11. The Contenders

  11. The great hammerhead shark is the largest species of hammerhead shark

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