Relevant synonyms Zygaena mokarran Zygaena dissimilis Sphyrna ligo Misidentification None  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Large hammerhead with first dorsal fin high and strongly falcate; its rear tip in front of pelvic fin origin. Pelvic and anal fins with rear margin falcate. In adults, the anterior margin of head (hammer) is nearly straight. Teeth strongly serrated. color : grey - brown on dorsal surfaces, light below. size : adults 3.5 m (max. ca. 6 m). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Sphyrna zygaena and S. tudes: anterior margin of head rounded. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Viviparous, number of young 12 to 40, after a supposed gestation period of less than one year. The size at birth is about 60 cm. Feeds on a variety of fish, both pelagic and demersal, including several species of sharks, skates and stingrays. It is considered dangerous for man in its adult sizes. habitat : a coastal pelagic species, which in tropical areas can occur close to shore, including lagoons of coral reefs. It is said to have migratory habits, returning to the same place after years.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Camogli, Ligurian Sea, Western Mediterranean, 1977. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : circumtropical, including the Red Sea and Atlantic Morocco. Mediterranean : Camogli, Ligurian Sea, Western Mediterranean (Boero and Carli, 1977). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare, only a single specimen recorded in the Mediterranean. Other records from the Mediterranean are apparently erroneous. speculated reasons for success : MODE OF INTRODUCTION Probably via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None yet (potentially dangerous but too rare in the Mediterranean).

KEY REFERENCES Boero F. and Carli C., 1977. Prima segnalazione mediterranea di Sphyrna mokarran (Rüppel, 1837) (Selachii, Sphyrnidae). Bollettino di Musei e degli Istituti Biologici dell'Universita Genova, 45 : 91-93. Cadenat J. and Blache J., 1981. Requins de Méditerranée et d'Atlantique. Faune Trop. ORSTOM, 21: 330 p. Compagno L.J.V., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2. Carcharhiniformes. FAO Fish Synopsis, (125) Vol. 4, Pt.2 : 251-655. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: April 2002 ©ciesm 2002