Sphyrna mokarran
Threatened
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead Sharks)
Sphyrna
Sphyrna mokarran (Great Hammerhead)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Moderately slender with a broad, narrow, bladelike head; expanded section of head very broad and narrow, width equals 23% to 27% of TL; anterior margin of head broadly arched in juveniles but almost straight in adults; prenarial groove absent or poorly developed; upper jaw with 19 to 20 tooth rows on each side, lower jaw with 17 to 20; teeth similar in both jaws with slightly oblique and serrated cusps; first dorsal fin very large and strongly falcate; second dorsal fin equal in height to anal fin with strongly concave posterior margin; pelvic fin with strongly concave posterior margin
Grayish brown dorsally and light ventrally
Distribution
North Carolina to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate seas from near shore to the edge of continental and insular shelves, from the surface to 80 m
Biology
Squids, crabs, other sharks and rays, and a wide variety of bony fishes
Maximum known size is 550 to 610 cm TL
Litters range from 13 to 42 young; males mature at 234 to 269 cm TL, females mature at 250 to 300 cm TL, and young are 50 to 70 cm TL at birth
A coastal-pelagic, semi-oceanic shark, found close inshore and well offshore, over the continental shelves, island terraces, and in passes and lagoons (Ref. 244, 58302). Often bottom and reef associated at 1-80 m (Ref. 58302). Prefers to feed on stingrays and other batoids, groupers and sea catfishes, but also preys on other small bony fishes, crabs, squid, other sharks, rays, and lobsters (Ref. 244, 13562, 1602). A viviparous species, with 13-42 of about 56 to 70 cm young in a litter (Ref. 26938, 1602). Potentially dangerous to people (Ref. 13562) but only few, if any, of the attacks on people can be definitely attributed to it because of the apparent difficulty of distinguishing large hammerhead species involved in attacks (Ref. 244). Caught occasionally by target shark longline, demersal tangle net and tuna gillnet fisheries (Ref.58048). Meat utilized for human consumption (fresh, fresh-frozen, dried-salted, and smoked), liver oil for vitamins, fins for soup, hides for leather, and carcasses for fishmeal (Ref. 244). Its large fins, including the tail, sail-like first dorsal fin, are prized in the Oriental sharkfin trade (Ref. 47737).
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR), assessed 2018-11-09. Resilience: Low (tmax=30; tm=8.2; Fec=13).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
S. Springer 1963
Clark and von Schmidt 1965
Gilbert 1967
Hoese and Moore 1977
Applegate et al. 1979
Castro 1983
Compagno 1984
Quero 1986g
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Bonfil et al. 1990
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO.
Myers, R.F. (1991) Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p.
Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale (1989) Guide to the sharks and rays of southern Africa. New Holland (Publ.) Ltd., London. 158 p.
Sierra, L.M., R. Claro and O.A. Popova (1994) Alimentacion y relaciones tróficas. p. 263-284. In Rodolfo Claro (ed.) Ecología de los Peces Marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
Myers, R.F. (1999) Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 p.
Comments On Sphyrna mokarran