D I S C O V E R   L I F E   
  HomeIDnature guidesGlobal mapperSearchHelp  
   

Sphyrna media Springer, 1940
SCOOPHEAD
Life   Vertebrata   Fish   Sphyrnidae   Sphyrna



Sphyrna media
© Copyright Ross Robertson, 2006 · 12
Sphyrna media

Click on images or map to enlarge and for details.
80x5 - 240x3 - 240x4 - 320x1 - 320x2 - 320x3 - 640x1 - 640x2
Set display option above.
Click on images to enlarge.
Sphyrna media
© Copyright Ross Robertson, 2006 · 12
Sphyrna media
Sphyrna media
© Copyright Photographer/SFTEP, 2002 · 0
Sphyrna media

See
IDnature guides
Overview
Main identification features
  • hammer angular;snout length ~1/3 hammer width
  • mouth arch rounded
  • a: rear edge concave
A hammerhead shark with moderately broad, but short mallet-shaped side extensions of head (width of hammer 22-33% of total length); front margin of head broadly arched with very shallow lateral and central indentations; length before mouth usually ~1/3 of head width; mouth arch rounded; first dorsal fin moderately large and erect, its rear margin noticeably concave; second dorsal fin base about half length of anal fin base; origin of second dorsal fin above middle of anal fin; rear margin of anal fin margin strongly concave.

Grey brown on back and sides, lighter on under surfaces.

Reported to attain 150 cm; size at birth 30-35 cm.

A coastal species, demersal over soft bottoms.

Depth: 0-100 m?.

Western Atlantic and eastern Pacific (Lower Gulf of California to Peru, Malpelo).


Attributes

Abundance: Common.

Cites: Not listed.

Climate Zone: North Temperate (Californian Province &/or Northern Gulf of California); Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap); Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos); Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo); South Temperate (Peruvian Province ).

Depth Range Max: 100 m.

Depth Range Min: 0 m.

Diet: Pelagic crustacea; octopus/squid/cuttlefish; mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs); sea-stars/cucumbers/urchins; bony fishes; mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves.

Eastern Pacific Range: Northern limit=29; Southern limit=-6; Western limit=-113; Eastern limit=-78; Latitudinal range=35; Longitudinal range=35.

Egg Type: Live birth; No pelagic larva.

Feeding Group: Carnivore.

FishBase Habitat: Demersal.

Global Endemism: New world (East Pacific + West Atlantic); East Pacific + Atlantic (East +/or West); Transisthmian (East Pacific + Atlantic of Central America); TEP non-endemic; All species.

Habitat: Mud; Sand & gravel; Soft bottom only; Soft bottom (mud, sand,gravel, beach, estuary & mangrove).

Inshore Offshore: Inshore; Inshore Only.

IUCN Red List: Not evaluated / Listed.

Length Max: 150 cm.

Regional Endemism: Island (s); Continent; Continent + Island (s); Eastern Pacific non-endemic; Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) non-endemic; All species.

Residency: Resident.

Salinity: Brackish; Marine.

Water Column Position: Bottom; Bottom only;

Names
Scientific source:
Links to other sites


References
  • Béarez, P., 1996., Lista de los Peces Marinos del Ecuador Continental., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 44:731-741.
  • Compagno, L.J.V., 1999., Checklist of living elasmobranchs. In Hamlett W.C. (ed.) Sharks, skates, and rays: the biology of elasmobranch fishes., The John Hopkins University Press:471-498.
  • Compagno, L.J.V., 1984., Sharks of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Species Catalogue., FAO Fish. Synop. No 125, 4(2):251-655.
  • Findley, L.T., Hendrickx, M.E., Brusca, R.C., van der Heiden, A.M., Hastings, P.A., Torre, J., 2003., Diversidad de la Macrofauna Marina del Golfo de California, Mexico., CD-ROM versión 1.0. Projecto de la Macrofauna del Golfo .  Derechos reservados de los autores y Conservación Internacional.
  • Fischer , W. , Krup , F. , Schneider , W. , Sommer , C. , Carpenter , K. E. and Niem, V. H., 1995., Guia FAO para la Identificacion de Especies de para los fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. Volumen II. Vertebrados - Parte 1., FAO2:647-1200.
  • Jimenez-Prado, P., Béarez, P., 2004., Peces marinos del Ecuador continental / Marine fishes of continental Ecuador., SIMBIOE/NAZCA/IFEA tomo 1 y 2.
  • Lopez , M. I. and Bussing, W. A., 1982., Lista provisional de los peces marinos de la Costa Rica., Revista de Biologia Tropical, 30(1):5-26.
  • Love, M.S., Mecklenburg, C.W., Mecklenburg, T.A., Thorsteinson, L.K., 2005., es of the West Coast and Alaska: a checklist of North Pacific and Artic Ocena species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border., U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, 288pp.
  • Rubio, E.A., 1986., Notas sobre la ictiofauna de la Isla de Gorgona, Colombia., Boletin Ecotropica. Univ. Bog. Jorge Tadeo Lozano, 13:86-112.
  • Springer, S., 1940., Three new sharks of the genus Sphyrna from the Pacific Coast of tropical America., Stanford Ichthyol. Bull., 1:161-172.
  • Van der Heiden , A. M. and Findley, L. T., 1988., Lista de los peces marinos del sur de Sinaloa, México., Anales del Centro de Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia de la Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico, 15:209-224.


Acknowledgements

I thank Ashley MacDonald and John Pickering, University of Georgia, for technical support in building this page.


Top
Updated: 2025-02-08 15:33:27 gmt
© Designed by The Polistes Corporation