A hammerhead shark has a wide head shaped like a hammer. This wide head is called the cephalofoil.

The eyes are at the two ends of the head. These wide-set eyes give the shark good sight. It also has electrical sense organs called the ampullae of Lorenzini.

The great hammerhead is the biggest kind of hammerhead shark. A scalloped hammerhead is another kind. It has a notch in the middle of the front of its head.

As of November 2026, the longest great hammerhead reported was 610 centimeters (20 feet) long. As of November 2026, the largest published weight for a great hammerhead is 449.5 kilograms (991 pounds).

Hammerhead sharks live in warm seas around the world. A great hammerhead lives close to the shore and also far out at sea.

A great hammerhead is found in water from 1 to 300 meters deep. It is usually found in water 1 to 100 meters deep. Great hammerheads migrate with the seasons.

A hammerhead eats fish, squid and crustaceans such as crabs. A great hammerhead likes to eat stingrays, groupers and sea catfishes.

A mother hammerhead gives birth to live pups. A mother scalloped hammerhead carries her pups for 9 to 10 months before they are born. A great hammerhead pup is 50 to 70 centimeters long when it is born.

Young scalloped hammerheads swim together in large schools.

Words to know

• cephalofoil: wide hammer head
• ampullae: electric sense organs
• migrate: travel with seasons
• crustaceans: crabs and kin