Overview

This shark belongs to the hammerhead family, where the head itself is the signature field mark. PocketShark uses that broad sensory platform as the visual anchor, then adds species-specific differences when the source base is stronger. The side-expanded head is the obvious character, but body shape, dorsal-fin proportions, and the outline of the cephalofoil help separate species. Hammerheads occur mainly in tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate seas worldwide. Species ranges span estuaries, reefs, continental shelves, and open ocean.

The family uses both coastal and pelagic habitat, with juveniles often favoring shallow nursery areas and larger animals moving more broadly.

Added from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).

Why it matters: The hammer-shaped head spreads sensory organs over a wide area, which may improve navigation and prey detection.

Common namescalloped bonnethead
Scientific nameSphyrna corona
FamilySphyrnidae
OrderCarcharhiniformes
Max length0.9 m
Depth range0 to 0 meters
RegionUnknown
DietData not available in this offline release.
HabitatMarine waters (habitat data not available locally).
Why it stands outFamily: Sphyrnidae

What this shark is

The side-expanded head is the obvious character, but body shape, dorsal-fin proportions, and the outline of the cephalofoil help separate species.

Where it lives

Hammerheads occur mainly in tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate seas worldwide. Species ranges span estuaries, reefs, continental shelves, and open ocean.

The family uses both coastal and pelagic habitat, with juveniles often favoring shallow nursery areas and larger animals moving more broadly.

How it differs from similar sharks

Family: Sphyrnidae

Compare it against Sphyrna Alleni, Sphyrna Couardi, and Carolina hammerhead.

Why it is notable

Some large hammerheads deserve caution, yet direct incidents are uncommon compared with the scale of fishery mortality faced by the family.

Species-level taxonomy was verified from Sharkipedia's current species list and taxonomy workbook. In this pass, the narrative fields are cautious family-level placeholders synthesized from broad shark references, chiefly the FAO Sharks of the World catalogue, because a stronger multi-source species-level synthesis was not assembled here without risking invented detail. Replace this with a direct species-level synthesis before publication in the app.

Related shark pages

These links are meant to help readers continue through related species, not force extra clicks.

Carolina hammerhead photograph showing the bonnet-like hammerhead outline in shallow water; not to scale.
Sphyrna gilberti

Carolina hammerhead

Common name: Sphyrna Gilberti

Shark species in Sphyrnidae.