Facts about Smooth Hammerhead Sharks
The smooth hammerhead, Sphyrna zygaena, is a large hammerhead shark. It lives in temperate and tropical seas. The smooth hammerhead weighs 400Kgs on the average. Adults attain lengths up to 4 meters. It is the only species of hammerhead that appears in Canadian coastal waters, having been reported off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The coloration of smooth hammerhead varies from brownish-gray to deep olive (as with most hammerhead sharks), fading to a pale whitish color on its underside. It is differentiated from other species of hammerhead by the smooth shape of its cephalophoil (head) and its lack of a central indentation. The teeth of smooth hammerhead are similar on both the upper and lower jaws, are triangular and smooth edged. The diet of smooth hammerhead consists of schooling fish such as menhaden and herring, other sharks (including other smooth hammerheads), skates and shrimps. The give birth to litter between 20 to 40 pups. The pups are approximately 50 centimeters long at birth This hammerhead is a viviparous species. Individuals become sexually mature at about 2.3 meters in length. While the smooth hammerhead can be found world-wide, they occur primarily in warm-temperate waters, and rarely in very warm or tropical water. |
SEARCH
Sponsors
|