Smooth hammerhead: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the smooth hammerhead lives – recorded in 20 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Sphyrna zygaena
Group	Sharks
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	20 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Family	Sphyrnidae

Where does the smooth hammerhead live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the smooth hammerhead in 20 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, New Guinea.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the smooth hammerhead endangered?

The smooth hammerhead’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the smooth hammerhead?

The smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Carcharhiniformes and the family Sphyrnidae, genus Sphyrna. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the smooth hammerhead

The smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. This species is named "smooth hammerhead" because of the distinctive shape of the head, which is flattened and laterally extended into a hammer shape (called the "cephalofoil"), without an indentation in the middle of the front margin (hence "smooth"). Unlike other hammerheads, this species prefers temperate waters and occurs worldwide at medium latitudes. In the summer, these sharks migrate towards the poles following cool water masses, sometimes forming schools numbering in the hundreds to thousands.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Smooth hammerhead (revision 1315233485), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q726259 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).