Winghead shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the winghead shark lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Eusphyra blochii
Group	Sharks
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	2 countries
Continents	Oceania
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Carcharhiniformes
Family	Sphyrnidae

Where does the winghead shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the winghead shark in 2 countries and territories across Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: 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 winghead shark endangered?

The winghead shark’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the winghead shark?

The winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Carcharhiniformes and the family Sphyrnidae, genus Eusphyra. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the winghead shark

The winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. It is the sole member of the genus Eusphyra. Reaching a length of 1.9 m (6.2 ft), this small brown to gray shark has a slender body with a tall, sickle-shaped first dorsal fin. Its name comes from its exceptionally large "hammer", or cephalofoil, which can be as wide as half of the shark's total length. The function of this structure is unclear, but may relate to the shark's senses. The wide spacing of its eyes grants superb binocular vision, while the extremely long nostrils on the leading margin of the cephalofoil may allow for better detection and tracking of odor trails in the water. The cephalofoil also provides a large surface area for its ampullae of Lorenzini and lateral line, with potential benefits for electroreception and mechanoreception, respectively.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Winghead shark (revision 1373378324), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q890336 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).