About This Quiz
Hammerheads sharks are one of the most intriguing species of shark, sporting a hammer-shaped head that sets them apart. Take our quiz and learn more about this unusual creature.The great white shark is known as the fiercest predator in the ocean, scaring moviegoers and beach lovers alike.
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Hammerhead sharks have little mouths with little teeth, and they have a wide, flat, hammer-shaped head with eyes on either side. Most scientists consider them the funniest looking shark.
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Though there are actually nine classifications of hammerhead sharks, only four are commonly found: the great hammerhead, the smooth hammerhead, the scalloped hammerhead and the bonnethead.
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Though three out of the four types of the common hammerhead sharks are considered to be dangerous to humans, there have only been 38 recorded hammerhead attacks on humans since 1580, and no one has ever been killed by a hammerhead.
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Hammerheads sharks are usually found in temperate and tropical waters, though some species prefer cooler water.
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Like most sharks, hammerheads are fished commercially for their hides and meat, and their fins are cut off in a process called finning. Shark fin soup is popular in Asia, but shark finning is outlawed in United States waters.
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The bonnethead is the smallest of the four major species of hammerhead, at an average of 3.5 feet long (1 meter) and about 20 pounds (9 kilogram).
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The great hammerhead is the largest of the four major species of hammerhead, with a length of up to 18 feet (5 meters) and weighing as much as 800 pounds (360 kilograms).
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The great hammerhead shark, like all sharks, is a carnivore, preferring bony fish, small sharks, shellfish and stingrays.
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The hammerhead's mouth is smaller than most other large sharks and they have small, sharp, serrated teeth up front with larger, flatter teeth in the back. These hard back teeth are used for grinding up tougher prey, like shellfish.
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Bonnethead sharks prefer crustaceans like blue crabs, but they also eat bony fish, shrimp and seagrass.
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Hammerhead sharks are grayish-brown to olive on top and lighter colored on their stomachs.
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If you see a tall dorsal fin protruding high above the surface in shallow waters, you can be pretty sure there's a hammerhead shark in the area.
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Scalloped hammerheads are different from most other species of sharks in that they hang out together in schools.
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Small fish stay together in schools to provide protection against their predators, or to surround their prey, making it easier to hunt for food.
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Male hammerheads seem to prefer a large female who is able to carry and give birth to a large number of pups.
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Female hammerhead sharks carry their pups inside their body for a gestation period of 8-10 months before giving birth in shallow waters.
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The bonnethead's cephalofoil is rounded at the front and looks more like a shovel than a hammer.
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Ampullae of Lorenzini can detect weak electric emissions from other sea life. In the case of hammerheads, the ampullae are spread out over a greater surface area, giving the shark the ability to cover more ground and sense its prey more easily.
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In 2001, in a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, a female hammerhead shark gave birth to a male pup even though she had been celibate for more than three years. Researchers concluded that the mother had fertilized her own eggs and had a virgin birth called parthenogenesis.
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