Living Beings
    A great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran. 1 / 1

    Wikimedia Commons photograph; resized for display. NOAA / NMFS / Mississippi Laboratory · CC BY 3.0

    Field guide · species

    Great hammerhead shark

    Sphyrna mokarran (Ruppell, 1837)

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    The authority credits the formal scientific description of the name. A year records publication of that description.

    The parentheses indicate that the original description used a different genus. Zoological naming rules ↗

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    AnimaliaChondrichthyesCarcharhiniformesCarcharhinidae

    The great hammerhead is the largest hammerhead species. The front margin of its broad head is nearly straight, with a notch in the center.

    Nutrition
    Carnivorous
    Source ↗
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    Tree of lifeScientific lineage
    1. LifeLife
    2. DomainEukaryota
    3. KingdomAnimalia
    4. PhylumChordata
    5. ClassChondrichthyes
    6. OrderCarcharhiniformes
    7. FamilyCarcharhinidae
    8. GenusSphyrna
    9. SpeciesSphyrna mokarran
    Advanced classification

    Complete source lineage, including intermediate ranks. The standard view uses Life and the eight principal ranks.

    1. cellular organisms cellular root
    2. Eukaryota domain
    3. Opisthokonta clade
    4. Metazoa kingdom
    5. Eumetazoa clade
    6. Bilateria clade
    7. Deuterostomia clade
    8. Chordata phylum
    9. Craniata subphylum
    10. Vertebrata clade
    11. Gnathostomata clade
    12. Chondrichthyes class
    13. Elasmobranchii subclass
    14. Selachii infraclass
    15. Galeomorphii clade
    16. Galeoidea superorder
    17. Carcharhiniformes order
    18. Carcharhinidae family
    19. Sphyrna genus
    20. Sphyrna mokarran species
    Open in taxonomy explorer ↗

    Physical traits

    The flattened head is called a cephalofoil. A tall first dorsal fin is another useful identification feature.

    Habitat and range

    It occurs in warm coastal and offshore waters.

    Diet and nutrition

    The great hammerhead eats fish and invertebrates. Rays are a documented part of its diet.

    Evidence

    Sources

    Connected life

    • Lives in Warm coastal waters · Source
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