Great hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran (Rüppell, 1837)
CRCritically Endangeredsharks and rays
The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae in the order Carcharhiniformes. It is classified in the class Elasmobranchii, phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia, and its genus is Sphyrna.
Quick facts about the great hammerhead
The species was named by (Rüppell, 1837) and is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) in a global IUCN Red List assessment, an IUCN threatened category. Other English names for it include Hoe-head shark, Hammerhead shark, Scalloped hammerhead, Great hammerhead shark and Squat-headed hammerhead shark.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- 4.6 m – 6.2 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- up to 49src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Live birthsrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the great hammerhead?
Photos of the great hammerhead
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the great hammerhead live?
Not recorded
What is the great hammerhead?
The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest species of hammerhead shark, belonging to the family Sphyrnidae, attaining an average length of 4.6 m (15 ft) and reaching a maximum length of 6.2 m (20 ft). It is found around the globe in all the warmer parts of the oceans. The great hammerhead can be distinguished from other hammerheads by the shape of its "hammer" (called the "cephalofoil"), which is wide with an almost straight front margin, its tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin, and its strongly falcated pelvic fins. A solitary, strong-swimming apex predator, the great hammerhead feeds on a wide variety of prey ranging from crustaceans and cephalopods, to bony fish, to smaller sharks. Observations of this species in the wild suggest that the cephalofoil functions to immobilize stingrays, a favored prey. This species has a viviparous mode of reproduction, bearing litters of up to 2-49 pups every two years.
Although potentially dangerous, the great hammerhead rarely attacks humans and can sometimes behave inquisitively toward divers. This shark is heavily fished for its large fins, which are valuable on the Chinese market as the main ingredient of shark fin soup. As a result, great hammerhead populations are declining substantially worldwide, and it has been assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as of 2019.
From the Wikipedia article “Great hammerhead” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_hammerhead&oldid=1384185810), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the great hammerhead endangered?
The great hammerhead is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.
How is the great hammerhead classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classElasmobranchii
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familySphyrnidae
- genusSphyrna
- SpeciesSphyrna mokarran (Rüppell, 1837)
Synonyms Sphyrna ligo, Sphyrna mokorran, Sphyrna mukaran, Zygaena dissimilis, Zygaena mokarran
Other names and names in other languages (68)
- Great hammerhead sharkEnglish
- Hammerhead sharkEnglish
- Hammerhead sharkEnglish
- Hoe-head sharkEnglish
- Scalloped hammerheadEnglish
- Squat-headed hammerhead sharkEnglish
- Squat-headed hammerhead sharkEnglish
- Groot HamerkopAfrikaans
- JarjurArabic
- قرش رأس المجرفةArabic
- القرش أبو مطرقة الكبيرArabic
- قرش أبو مطرقة العظيمArabic
- قرش رأس المطرقة العظيمArabic
- Hiu capilbcn
- Hiu bingkohbcn
- Kladivoun velkýCzech
- Stor hammerhajDanish
- großer HammerhaiGerman
- CornudaSpanish
- cornuda de leySpanish
- cornuda giganteSpanish
- El TiburonSpanish
- Guardia CivilSpanish
- Pez MartilloSpanish
- TiburonSpanish
- Tiburón martilloSpanish
- tiburón martillo giganteSpanish
- isovasarahaiFinnish
- mataidaligaFijian
- SorosenaFrench
- Grand requin marteauFrench
- Grand requin-marteauFrench
- Marieau MilletFrench
- Poisson PantouflierFrench
- nagy pörölycápaHungarian
- Squalo martello maggioreItalian
- ヒラシュモクザメJapanese
- Hira-shumokuzameJapanese
- Hiu capingJavanese
- didysis kūjaryklisLithuanian
- Kad suarMalay
- Yu bengkongMalay
- Yu jerungMalay
- Yu mata jauhMalay
- Yu palangMalay
- Yu sambaranMalay
- Yu sanggul lintangMalay
- Yu tandukMalay
- Yu tukulMalay
- Grote hamerhaaiDutch
- Tribon martinPapiamento
- Tribon 'i krusPapiamento
- Tribon di krusPapiamento
- głowomłot olbrzymiPolish
- CambevaPortuguese
- Cornuda-gigantePortuguese
- Tubarão-martelo-gigantePortuguese
- Гигантская акула-молотRussian
- акула-молот гигантскаяRussian
- velika kladvenicaSlovenian
- ปลาฉลามหัวค้อนใหญ่Thai
- dev çekiçbaşTurkish
- 犛頭沙Chinese
- 八鰭丫髻鮫Chinese
- 無溝丫髻鯊Chinese
- 無溝雙髻鯊Chinese
- 雙過仔Chinese
- 雙髻鯊Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the great hammerhead
Other species in the same genus Sphyrna.
Smooth hammerhead
Sphyrna zygaena
Hammerhead shark
Sphyrna lewini
Bonnethead
Sphyrna tiburo
Smalleye
Sphyrna tudes
Scoophead
Sphyrna media
Crown shark
Sphyrna corona
CompareGreat hammerhead vs Smooth hammerheadGreat hammerhead vs Hammerhead sharkGreat hammerhead vs BonnetheadGreat hammerhead vs Smalleye
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the great hammerhead?
The great hammerhead is a fish in the sharks and rays subgroup. It belongs to the family Sphyrnidae and the order Carcharhiniformes.
What is the scientific name of the great hammerhead?
Its scientific name is Sphyrna mokarran, placed in the genus Sphyrna.
Is the great hammerhead endangered?
Yes. It is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) in a global IUCN Red List assessment, which is an IUCN threatened category.
Who named the great hammerhead and when?
The scientific name authority is written as (Rüppell, 1837).
What other names does the great hammerhead have?
Other English names are Hoe-head shark, Hammerhead shark, Scalloped hammerhead, Great hammerhead shark and Squat-headed hammerhead shark.
What class does the great hammerhead belong to?
It belongs to the class Elasmobranchii, in the phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-hammerhead
“Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-hammerhead.
@misc{great_hammerhead_2026,
title = {Great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/great-hammerhead},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}