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Sphyrna couardi Cadenat, 1951

Whitefin hammerhead
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Sphyrna couardi   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Sphyrna couardi (Whitefin hammerhead)
Sphyrna couardi
Picture by FAO

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Carcharhiniformes (Ground sharks) > Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead, bonnethead, or scoophead sharks)
Etymology: Sphyrna: Probable misspelling of sphyra (Gr.), hammer, referring to their hammer-shaped heads (See ETYFish).
Eponymy: Monsieur Couard was Director of shark fisheries off the coast of Senegal, the type locality. Unfortunately we can find nothing more about him. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic. Tropical; 17°N - 5°S, 19°W - 13°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Senegal to Congo. Not in Compagno's 1999 checklist (Ref. 35766).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 300 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 244)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

A coastal-pelagic shark. Feeds on fishes, especially bony fishes, and also benthic and epibenthic cephalopods. Viviparous, with 24 to 28 young in a litter. Size at birth about 30 to 32 cm.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Viviparous, placental (Ref. 50449).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Compagno, Leonard J.V. | Collaborators

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. Synop. 125(4/2):251-655. Rome: FAO. (Ref. 244)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic





Human uses

Fisheries: subsistence fisheries
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Diet composition
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Maturity/Gills rel.
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References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.4 - 28, mean 26.7 °C (based on 64 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5029   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00347 (0.00153 - 0.00788), b=3.12 (2.93 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.5   ±0.54 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=24).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.