A scalloped hammerhead shark swims off the coast of Cocos Island. This species can grow to 14 feet in length. Its larger cousin, the great hammerhead, can grow to 20 feet and weigh over 1,000 pounds. There are nine recognized hammerhead species, all of which are found in tropical waters throughout the world.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
A great hammerhead shark in the northern Bahamas. The hammerhead's peculiar, flattened head is called a "cephalofoil." It's not entirely clear why the shark's head is shaped this way. One possible reason is that it spreads the shark's sensory organs out, enhancing the shark's senses of smell and electroreception. The winglike head may also help with lift and maneuverability in the water.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
Some hammerhead species travel in large schools of up to 500 sharks or more. Here, hammerhead sharks gather at a seamount in the Galapagos. At night, the schooling hammerheads break up to feed.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
Juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks patrol Hawaii's Kane'ohe Bay at night. Like most sharks, hammerheads are probably more active at night than during the day.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
Hammerhead sharks have disproportionately small mouths. They do most of their feeding along the bottom of the ocean. Their diet includes fish, squid, octopus, crustaceans, stingrays and even other sharks, including young hammerheads.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
The hammerhead shark is one of only a few animals that can get a tan from prolonged exposure to sunlight. This occurs in shallow waters or when the shark swims close to the surface.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
Many hammerhead species gather around seamounts (mountains rising from the sea floor). They find their way to and from the seamounts by following "magnetic highways." These are caused by freshly upwelled lava on the seabed; the lava has a geomagnetic signature that the sharks can detect through electroreception.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
The most popular places to see hammerheads in the wild include the Coco Islands, South Africa, the Great Barrier Reef, some Indonesian islands and the Galapagos Islands, where one can swim among huge schools of hammerhead sharks.
Image Credit: Chris Dascher/iStockphoto Stuart Westmorland
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