Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758)

cachona, Smooth hammerhead

A large hammerhead with a notch at the center of head; 1st dorsal fin moderately high, 2nd dorsal and pelvic fins low (Ref. 5578). Olive-grey or dark grey above, white below (Ref. 5578). Fins nearly plain, dusky or blackish tipped (Ref. 13562).

Subtropical:oceanodromous (Ref. 13562); brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 5578), usually 0 - 20 m (Ref. 55303),Pelagic-oceanic

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Elasmobranchii

Order
Carcharhiniformes

Suborder
Galeomorphi

Family
Sphyrnidae

Genus
Sphyrna

Species
zygaena

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Sphyrna zigaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling), Spyrna zygaena (Linnaeus, 1758) (misspelling), Squalis pictus Blainville, 1816, Squalus carolinensis Blainville, 1816, Squalus malleus (Valenciennes, 1822), Squalus zygaena Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym), Zygaena malleus Valenciennes, 1822, Zygaena subarcuata Storer, 1848, Zygaena vulgaris Cloquet, 1830, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Distribution: circumtropical

References

  • Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Sphyrna zygaena", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12809. Accessed 21 May 2025.