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SCALLOPED
HAMMERHEAD
Order - Carcharhiniformes
Family - Sphyrnidae
Genus - Sphyrna
Species - lewini
Taxonomy
The scalloped hammerhead was originally described
as Zygaena lewini by Griffith and Smith in 1834. This
shark was later renamed Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and
Smith, 1834), which remains the current valid name.
The name Sphyrna translates from Greek to the English
language "hammer", referring to the hammer-shaped
head of this species. Synonyms used in past scientific
literature to refer to the scalloped hammerhead include
Cestracion leeuwenii (Day 1865), Zygaena erythraea
(Klunzinger 1871), Cestracion oceanica (Garman 1913),
and Sphyrna diplana (Springer 1941).
There
are approximately 10 related species of hammerheads
throughout tropical and temperate regions including
the bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo), great hammerhead
(Sphyrna mokarran), and smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna
zygaena).
Common Names
Common names in the English language include scalloped
hammerhead, bronze hammerhead shark, hammerhead, hammerhead
shark, kidney-headed shark, scalloped hammerhead shark,
and southern hammerhead shark. Other common names
are abul-garn (Arabic), aka-shumokuzame (Japanese),
cação-cornudo (Portugese), cachona (Spanish),
chadayan sravu (Malayalam), cornuda (Spanish), geschulpte
hamerhaai (Dutch), Glowomlot tropikalny (Polish),
jarjur (Arabic), jerong tenggiri (Malayan), kalhigandu
miyaru (Maldivian), kampavasarahai (Finnish), krusan
(Bikol), ktenozygena (Greek), mano kihikihi (Hawaiian),
morfillo (Spanish), peixe-martelo (Portuguese), pez
martillo (Spanish), requin marteau (French), skulprand-hamerkop
(Afrikaans), tiburón martillo (Spanish), and
yu palang (Malay).
Geographical Distribution
The scalloped hammerhead is circumglobal, residing
in coastal warm temperate and tropical seas. In the
western Atlantic Ocean, this shark is found from New
Jersey (US) south to Brazil including the Gulf of
Mexico and Caribbean Sea; and in the eastern Atlantic
from the Mediterranean Sea to Namibia. Distribution
in the Indo Pacific includes from South Africa and
the Red Sea, throughout the Indian Ocean, and from
Japan to New Caledonia, Hawaii, and Tahiti. Off the
coasts of southern California to Ecuador and perhaps
south to Peru are locations where the scalloped hammerhead
is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In Australia,
this hammerhead may be found off the northwestern
Western Australia coast.
SHORTFIN
MAKO
Order - Lamniformes
Family - Lamnidae
Genus - Isurus
Species - oxyrinchus
Taxonomy
Rafinesque
first described this shark as Isurus oxyrinchus in
1810. Since then, it has also appeared in the literature
as Isurus spallanzani Rafinesque 1810, Oxyrhina glauca
Müller & Henle 1839, Isuropsis dekayi Gill
1862, Isurus mako Whitley 1929, and Isurus africanus
Smith 1957 as well as many others. The species name
oxyrinchus is translated from Greek "oxy"
= sharp and "rynchus" = nose. Isurus is
Greek for equal tail referring to its lunate caudal
fin
Common
Names
The
shortfin mako's common name is derived from the Maori
term mako, which translated means "shark".
Other common names referring to this shark include
al karch (Arabic), amlez (Hebrew), anequim (Portuguese),
anequin barbatana curta (Portuguese), aozame (Japanese),
aso-polota (Samoan), atlantic mako (English), atunero
(Spanish), blauhai (German), bleu pointu (French),
blue pointer (English), blue shark (English), bonito
shark (English), cação-atum (Portuguese),
canavar baligi (Turkish), cane de mare (Spanish),
carcharias, carito (Spanish), cawar (Somali), chlarm
(Khmer), deeba (Arabic), dentuda (Spanish), dentuse
(Spanish), diamante (Spanish), dientuse (Spanish),
dientuso azul (Spanish), dikburun (Turkish), dikburuncanavar
baligi (Turkish), dog shark (English), ganumu sora
(Telugu), gisandoo (Wolof), haai (Dutch), haringhaai
(Dutch), janequín (Spanish), kortvin-mako (Afrikaans),
kortvinmakreelhaai (Dutch), lamie (French), mackerel
porbeagle (English), mackerel shark (English), mako
(English), mako shark (English), makrelenhai (German),
ma'o a'ahi (Tahitian), marache (French), marracho-azul
(Portuguese), marrajo dientuso (Spanish), ngutukao
(Maori), ossirina (Italian), pointed nose shark (English),
requin-taupe bleu (French), sharpnose mackerel shark
(English), shortfin shark (English), snapper shark
(English), solraig (Catalan), spitssnuitmakreelhaai
(Dutch), squalo mako (Italian), and taupe bleu (French).
Geographical
Distribution
The
shortfin mako has a wide distribution. It is found
in tropical and temperate waters throughout the world's
oceans. In North America it ranges from California
to Chile in the Pacific and from the Grand Banks to
the hump of Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and
the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic. It is commonly
seen in offshore waters from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.
In the eastern Atlantic the shortfin mako ranges from
Norway to South Africa, including the Mediterranean
and it is found throughout the Indian Ocean from South
Africa to Australia. In the western Pacific it ranges
from Japan to New Zealand and in the central Pacific
it occurs from the Aleutian Islands to the Society
Islands.
DUSKY
SHARK
Order - Carcharhiniformes
Family - Carcharhinidae
Genus - Carcharhinus
Species - obscurus
Taxonomy
Lessueur
first described the dusky shark in 1818 and classified
it as Squalus obscurus, later renaming it the currently
valid name Carcharhinus obscurus. The genus name Carcharhinus
is derived from the Greek "karcharos" =
sharpen and "rhinos" = nose. Obscurus can
be translated from Latin as "dark, indistinct".
Since its original description, this shark has appeared
in the literature under several different names, including
Geleolamna greyi Owen 1853, Carcharias macrurus Ramsay
& Ogilby 1887, Galeolamna (Galeolamnoides) eblis
Whitley 1944, Carcharhinus iranzae Fourmanoir 1961,
and Carcharhinus obscurella Deng, Xiong & Zhan
1981.
Common
Names
Common
English language names for this shark include bay-shark,
black whaler, bronze whaler, brown dusky shark, brown
shark, common whaler, dusky ground shark, dusky shark,
shark, and shovelnose. Other names include arenero
(Spanish), blauhai (German), cação fidalgo
(Portuguese), cazón (Spanish), donkerhaai (Afrikaans),
dotabuka (Japanese), estrela (Portuguese), karcharynos
skotinochromos (Greek), köpek baligi (Turkish),
lamia (Spanish), marracho areneiro (Portuguese), requiem
de sable (French), schemerhaai (Dutch), squalo scuro
(Italian), sumuhai (Finnish), tiburón arenero
(Spanish), and zarlacz ciemnoskóry (Polish).
Geographical
Distribution
The
dusky shark is a cosmopolitan species that occurs
along continental coastlines in tropical and temperate
waters. It ranges from Nova Scotia to Cuba (including
the northern Gulf of Mexico) and from Nicaragua to
southern Brazil in the western Atlantic and from southern
California to the Gulf of California in the eastern
Pacific. It is also found in the Mediterranean, Indian
and western Pacific, including Madagascar and Australia.
TIGER
SHARK
Galeocerdo cuvier
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The tiger shark has tiger-like markings on a dark
back with an off-white underbelly. Pups have spotted
markings that grow together to form stripes that fade
with maturity. It has a large, thick-body with a blunt
snout. The first dorsal fin is much longer than the
second. The caudal fin is long and pointed. There
is a dermal ridge along the back between the 2 dorsal
fins. Color-Adult: gray-brown on top, off-white belly,
young shark: dark stripes on the back.
Tiger
sharks have a special gill slit (a spiracle) behind
the eyes that provides oxygen flow directly to the
eyes and brain. It also has a very good sense of smell,
electroreceptors sensitive to electric currents in
the water, and keen eyesight.
TEETH
Tiger shark teeth are very serrated (saw-edged), razor-sharp,
and curved. The teeth are the same in upper and lower
jaws
The
teeth are located in rows which rotate into use as
needed. The first two rows are used in obtaining prey,
the other rows rotate into place as they are needed.
As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, they are
replaced by new teeth that rotate into place.
SIZE
Tiger sharks grow up to 20 feet (6 m). On average
they are about 10 feet (3 m) long.
DIET
AND FEEDING HABITS
Tiger sharks will eat fish, turtles, crabs, clams,
mammals, sea birds, reptiles, other sharks, and just
about anything else that they can catch alive.
TIGER
SHARK ATTACKS
The tiger shark does occasionally attack people and
is greatly feared, but people are not sought out by
sharks.
SOCIAL
GROUPS
Tiger sharks are solitary animals except during mating.
HABITAT
Tiger sharks go from the surface to 1,200 feet (340
m). They swim in tropical waters worldwide and in
some temperate seas. They inhabit both the shoreline
and open waters, ranging perhaps up to 500 miles.
DISTRIBUTION
Tiger sharks are found worldwide in warm seas (tropical
and subtropical).
SPEED
Tiger sharks swim at an average speed of 2.4 mph (3.85
kph). They can swim in fast bursts, but can only sustain
these high speeds for a few seconds..
REPRODUCTION
Tiger sharks reproduce via aplacental viviparity;
the young of tiger sharks are born live in litters
of between 10 and 82 pups. Gestation takes about 9
months. At birth they are 20-30 inches (51-76 cm)
long and are completely independent.
LIFE
SPAN
The life span of the tiger shark is unknown.
We hope you find these profiles interesting and informative. As more information becomes available we will update each profile accordingly.
Great White Shark
Tiger Shark
Mako Shark
Hammerhead Shark
Thresher Shark
Blue Shark
Porbeagle Shark
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