hammerhead
Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena)
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Open encyclopedia reference
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. The second-largest hammerhead shark after the great hammerhead shark, the smooth hammerhead can measure up to 5 m (16 ft) long. It is an active predator that takes a wide variety of bony fishes and invertebrates, with larger individuals also feeding on sharks and rays. As in the rest of its family, this shark is viviparous and gives birth to litters of 20–40 pups.
Wikipedia contributors, Smooth hammerhead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:39:17.820551+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- hammerhead
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Carcharhiniformes
- Family
- Sphyrnidae
- Genus
- Sphyrna
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderGaleomorphi
- orderCarcharhiniformes
- familySphyrnidae Bonaparte, 1840
- genusSphyrna Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesSphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sphyrna. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| scalloped bonnetheadSphyrna corona Springer, 1940 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphyrna couardi Cadenat, 1951 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| scoopheadSphyrna media Springer, 1940 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| great hammerheadSphyrna mokarran (Rüppell, 1837) | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphyrna vespertina Springer, 1940 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphyrna gilberti Quattro, Driggers, Grady, Ulrich & Roberts, 2013 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834) | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sphyrna alleni Gonzalez, Postaire, Driggers, Caballero & Chapman, 2024 | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bonnetheadSphyrna tiburo (Linnaeus, 1758) | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| smalleye hammerheadSphyrna tudes (Valenciennes, 1822) | SphyrnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Zygaena malleus Valenciennes, 1822 Valenciennes, 1822 | synonym |
| Zygaena subarcuata Storer, 1848 Storer, 1848 | synonym |
| Spyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Squalus zygaena Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Sphyrna zigaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Squalus carolinensis Blainville, 1816 Blainville, 1816 | synonym |
| Squalis pictus Blainville, 1816 Blainville, 1816 | synonym |
| Squalus malleus (Valenciennes, 1822) (Valenciennes, 1822) | synonym |
| Zygaena vulgaris Cloquet, 1830 Cloquet, 1830 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105819 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4Z2QW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.