Family Sphyrnidae - Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks
Order : Carcharhiniformes Sphyrnidae
Class : Elasmobranchii
No. in FishBase : Genera : 2 | Species : 11 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes
Environment : Fresh : No | Brackish : Yes | Marine : Yes
Division : Marine
Aquarium : none
First Fossil Record : upper   Cretaceous     Ref. Berg, L.S. 1958
Remark : Marine, coastal; occasionally in brackish water. Distribution: global (chiefly warm waters). Head laterally expanded, with eyes and nasal openings much wider set than in other sharks. The blades presumably server to increase the sharks' sensory capabilities. No spiracle. A maximum length of 4.5 m was reported for Sphyrna tudes. They feed on a wide variety of bony fish, elasmobranchs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and other prey. Young born fully developed. Potentially dangerous.
Etymology : Greek, sphyra = hammer. ( Ref. 45335).
Reproductive guild : bearers
Typical activity level : active
Main Ref. : Compagno, L.J.V. 1984
Coordinator : Compagno, L.J.V. 1984
Deep Fin Classification :

Show species images | Show valid names | Nominal species list | Identification keys | CAS specimen photos | References

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]
Glossary
[ e.g. oophagy ]


Species/Synonymy list for the family Sphyrnidae as currently in FishBase

Important recommendation:

The list below must not be used as an authority reference synonymy list like those found in scientific published revisions, which must be the source to be used and cited eventually when they exist.

Rather, it reflects the current content of FishBase, and the progress with respect to synchronization with the Catalog of Fishes. However, we think it can be useful for users to assess the quality of information in FishBase, to start new work on the family, or to cross-check with other lists.

But we appreciate to be cited in publications when this list has been of any working value. In particular, for published scientific, we suggest then to cite it in the Material and Method section as a useful tool to conduct the research, but again, not as a taxonomic or nomenclatural authority reference.

Unless it is explicitly precised, the list is not complete, please search all original names published for the family in the Catalog of Fishes (genera, species), including those with uncertain or unknown status, that are not included in FishBase when they are not attached to a valid species.

This list uses some data from Catalog of Fishes (not shown but used to sort names).

The list ordered as follows:

Please send comments and corrections if you detect errors or missing names.

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Scientifc name Status Senior/Junior synonym Combination
Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
acceptedseniornew
Squalus zygaena Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
! Sphyrna zigaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
synonymseniornew
! Spyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)
synonymseniornew
Squalus carolinensis Blainville, 1816
ambiguousquestionableoriginal
Squalis pictus Blainville, 1816
ambiguousquestionableoriginal
Zygaena malleus Valenciennes, 1822
synonymjuniororiginal
Squalus malleus (Valenciennes, 1822)
synonymjuniornew
Zygaena vulgaris Cloquet, 1830
synonymjuniororiginal
Zygaena subarcuata Storer, 1848
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna lewini (non Griffith & Smith, 1834)
misappliedmisappliednew
Sphyrna mokarran (non Rüppell, 1837)
misappliedmisappliednew
Sphyrna tiburo (Linnaeus, 1758)
acceptedseniornew
Squalus tiburo Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
Sphyrna tiburo tiburo (Linnaeus, 1758)
synonymseniornew
Sphyrna vespertina Springer, 1940
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna tudes (Valenciennes, 1822)
acceptedseniornew
Zygaena tudes Valenciennes, 1822
synonymseniororiginal
Cestracion tudes (Valenciennes, 1822)
synonymseniornew
! Sphyraena tudes (Valenciennes, 1822)
synonymseniornew
! Spyrna tudes (Valenciennes, 1822)
synonymseniornew
Sphyrna bigelowi Springer, 1944
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
acceptedseniornew
Zygaena lewini Griffith & Smith, 1834
synonymseniororiginal
! Sphyrna leweni (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
synonymseniornew
Zygaena indica van Hasselt, 1823
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Zygaena erythraea Klunzinger, 1871
synonymjuniororiginal
Cestracion oceanica Garman, 1913
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna diplana Springer, 1941
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna zygaena (non Linnaeus, 1758)
misappliedmisappliednew
Zygaena malleus (non Shaw & Nodder, 1789)
misappliedmisappliedmisapplied
Sphyrna mokarran (non Rüppell, 1837)
misappliedmisappliednew
Sphyrna mokarran (Rüppell, 1837)
acceptedseniornew
Zygaena mokarran Rüppell, 1837
synonymseniororiginal
! Sphyrna mokorran Rüppell, 1837
synonymseniororiginal
! Sphyrna mukaran (Rüppell, 1837)
synonymseniornew
Zygaena dissimilis Murray, 1887
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna ligo Fraser-Brunner, 1950
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna zygaena (non Linnaeus, 1758)
misappliedmisappliednew
Sphyrna tudes (non Valenciennes, 1822)
misappliedmisappliednew
Zygaena tudes (non Valenciennes, 1822)
misappliedmisappliedoriginal
Sphyrna lewini (non Griffith & Smith, 1834)
misappliedmisappliednew
Sphyrna corona Springer, 1940
acceptedseniororiginal
Sphyrna media Springer, 1940
acceptedseniororiginal
Sphyrna nana Sadowsky, 1965
synonymjuniororiginal
Sphyrna couardi Cadenat, 1951
acceptedseniororiginal
Zygaena tudes (non Valenciennes, 1822)
misappliedmisappliedoriginal
Sphyrna gilberti Quattro, Driggers, Grady, Ulrich & Roberts, 2013
acceptedseniororiginal
Eusphyra blochii (Cuvier, 1816)
acceptedseniornew
Zygaena blochii Cuvier, 1816
synonymseniororiginal
Cestracion blochi (Cuvier, 1816)
synonymseniornew
Sphyrna blochii (Cuvier, 1816)
synonymseniornew
! Eusphyrna blochi (Cuvier, 1816)
synonymseniornew
! Eusphyrna blochii (Cuvier, 1816)
synonymseniornew
Zygaena latycephala van Hasselt, 1823
synonymjuniororiginal
Eusphyra laticeps (Cantor, 1837)
acceptedseniornew
Zygaena laticeps Cantor, 1837
synonymseniororiginal
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