Despite being critically endangered, hammerhead sharks are one of the most recognizable shark species thanks to their unique appearance. There are nine species of true hammerhead sharks, including the iconic giant hammerhead, and here are five things you probably don’t know about them.
Useful Hammerheads
The Hammerhead portion of shark’s head is known as a cephalofoil and it can serve many different purposes, from hunting down prey to navigating vast distances and giving them superior depth perception.
Impaired Vision
Hammerheads have a 360-degree range of vision thanks to the unique positioning of their eyes, but their vision is still seriously impaired because they can’t see right in front of them.
Swimming Sideways
Their heads aren’t the only thing that sets this species aside from other sharks. Their fins are also of different lengths, with their first dorsal fin being longer than their pectoral fin, causing them to mostly swim sideways.
Immune to Stingray Stings
Humans avoid stingrays at all costs because their stings can lead to fever, nausea, swelling, and even seizures, but they don’t have the same impact on hammerhead sharks. They’re immune to stingray stings and they’re actually their favored prey.
Cannibalistic Nature
Hammerheads’ attacks on humans are pretty rare, but they can be pretty aggressive toward their own species, and they have a habit of occasionally eating their own.
