Known for their hammer-shaped head, hammerhead sharks are a type of shark that prefer to swim in tropical and temperate waters. 

Hammerhead sharks will use those hammer-shaped heads of theirs to their advantage in hunting. Cape Clasp explains, “Their wide heads are full of sensory organs that help them detect, observe, and capture their prey.” These sensory organs can detect the electrical fields emitted from stingrays. Hammerhead sharks will also use their flat, wide shaped heads to pin stingrays down and eat them. Their head shape allows for sharp turns, making the hammerhead quite agile. 

The spread out placement of their eyes gives them exceptional eyesight- nearly 360 degree vision.

 Evidently, all of these features make the hammerhead shark a species of shark that are excellent hunters. 

Aside from stingrays, hammerhead sharks eat various types of fish– crustaceans, squid, even other sharks.

  There are 10 different species of hammerhead sharks. All of which have slightly different shaped heads, and vary in size. The different types of hammerhead sharks are; 

The great hammerhead- the largest of the hammerhead species, the smooth hammerhead, the scalloped hammerhead, the scalloped bonnethead,the winghead shark, the scooped shark, the bonnethead shark, the smalleye hammerhead, the whitehead hammerhead, and as of 2013, a newly recognized species of hammerhead shark- the Carolina Hammerhead shark. 

On average, hammerhead sharks can live up to 20-30 years. Certain species of hammerhead, such as the scalloped and smooth hammerhead, will swim in large schools.  

Believe it or not, hammerhead sharks can get a tan! CSLUB says, “Juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks, which are typically light tan in color, were found to suntan when exposed to increases in solar radiation.” 

Hammerhead sharks are not human-eating monsters. Most species of hammerhead sharks are too small to be considered dangerous to humans, but the great hammerhead could pose a threat to humans due to its size. This being said, there have only been a few attacks by hammerhead head sharks recorded.