Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Sphyrna mokarran
cachona, Great hammerhead
A very large hammerhead also with a notch at the center of the head (Ref. 5578). Front margin of head gently curved in juveniles, becoming nearly straight in adults, with slight median notch (Ref. 26938). 1st dorsal fin very high and curved; 2nd dorsal and pelvic fins high and with deeply concave rear margins. Light grey or grey-brown above, white below; fins without conspicuous markings (Ref. 5578).
Subtropical: brackish; marine; depth range 1 - 300 m (Ref. 37816) ,Pelagic-oceanic.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Elasmobranchii
Order
Carcharhiniformes
Family
Sphyrnidae
Genus
Sphyrna
Species
mokarran
Taxon category: Accepted
No specimen or photograph exists. Tentatively included on the basis of a statement in Grove & Lavenberg (1997: 100) which states "the only record of a great hammerhead in the Archipelago is based on an observation along a vertical drop-off at Gordon Rocks at 30 m. Although rare within the islands, additional records can be expected."
Origin: Native
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Sphyrna mokarran", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12805. Accessed 30 April 2026.