scalloped hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Scalloped hammerhead; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:15.336251+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
- Name authority
- (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
- Common name
- scalloped 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 lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
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 |
| 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 |
| hammerheadSphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sphyrna leweni (Griffith & Smith, 1834) (Griffith & Smith, 1834) | synonym |
| Zygaena erythraea Klunzinger, 1871 Klunzinger, 1871 | synonym |
| Zygaena indica van Hasselt, 1823 van Hasselt, 1823 | synonym |
| Zygaena lewini Griffith & Smith, 1834 Griffith & Smith, 1834 | synonym |
| Cestracion leeuwenii Day, 1865 Day, 1865 | synonym |
| Cestracion oceanica Garman, 1913 Garman, 1913 | synonym |
| Sphyrna diplana Springer, 1941 Springer, 1941 | 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=105816 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:6YZZ2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.