Sphyrna tudes
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead Sharks)
Sphyrna
Sphyrna tudes
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.
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Characters
Moderately slender, with a broad, moderately narrow, bladelike head and a moderately high caudal fin with a well-developed ventral lobe. Expanded section of head is very broad and moderately long, width equals 28% to 32% of TL. Anterior margin of head is broadly arched and has medial and two lateral indentations. Prenarial groove, anteromedial to nostrils, is well developed. Upper jaw has 15 to 16 tooth rows on each side, and lower jaw has 15 to 17. Teeth of upper jaw have oblique, smooth-edged cusps, and teeth of lower jaw have erect, smooth-edged cusps. First dorsal fin is slightly falcate and originates slightly posterior to axil of pectoral fin. Second dorsal fin is shorter than anal fin, and has slightly concave posterior margin and inner margin shorter than twice fin height. Pelvic fin has straight or slightly concave posterior margin.
Gray to grayish brown dorsally and pale ventrally.
Distribution
Northern Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico (records may refer to another species of Sphyrna)
Habitat Associations
Tropical to warm temperate Atlantic, between the shoreline and about 12 m depth
Biology
Shrimps, crabs, squids, other sharks, and bony fishes
Maximum known size is about 150 cm TL
Litters range from six to nine young. Males mature at about 110 to 134 cm TL, females mature at about 120 to 148 cm TL, and young are about 30 cm TL at birth.
A little-known inshore shark of the continental shelf, found down to at least 12 m depth. Feeds on small bony fishes, including sea catfish and grunts, but also newborn scalloped hammerheads, swimming crabs, squids, and shrimp. Viviparous with a yolk-sac placenta; number of young probably 6 to 9 per litter (Ref. 244).
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR), assessed 2019-07-01. Resilience: Very low (Fec=6).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1948a
Gilbert 1967
Castro 1983
Compagno 1984
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
McEachran and Seret 1987
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.
Cortés, E. (1999) Standardized diet compositions and trophic levels of sharks. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 56:707-717.
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