Scalloped hammerhead

Scalloped hammerhead
Off Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Subdivision:	Selachimorpha
Order:	Carcharhiniformes
Family:	Sphyrnidae
Genus:	Sphyrna
Species:	S. lewini
Binomial name
Sphyrna lewini (E. Griffith & C. H. Smith, 1834)
Range of the scalloped hammerhead
Synonyms
Sphyrna couardi Cadenat, 1951

The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) is a species of hammerhead shark in the family Sphyrnidae. It was originally known as Zygaena lewini. The Greek word sphyrna translates into "hammer" in English, referring to the shape of this shark's head, which is its most distinguishing characteristic. The shark's eyes and nostrils are at the tips of the extensions. It is a fairly large hammerhead, but is still smaller than both the great and smooth hammerheads.

This shark is also known as the bronze, kinky-headed, or southern hammerhead. It primarily lives in warm, temperate, and tropical coastal waters all around the globe between latitudes 46°N and 36°S, down to a depth of 500 m (1,600 ft). It is the most common of all hammerheads.