Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Sphyrna lewini
tiburón martillo, Scalloped hammerhead
Size: At least 4.2 m. Silver-gray to gray-brown, fading to white underside. Underside tips of pectoral fins dusky. Rear edge of vental fin straight.
Habitat: Areas of deep water near dropp-offs. Form large schools of 400 individuals, swimming well organized
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Elasmobranchii
Order
Carcharhiniformes
Family
Sphyrnidae
Genus
Sphyrna
Species
lewini
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Cestracion leeuwenii Day, 1865, Cestracion oceanica Garman, 1913, Sphyrna diplana Springer, 1941, Zygaena erythraea Klunzinger, 1871, Zygaena indica van Hasselt, 1823, Zygaena lewini Griffith & Smith, 1834, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Native
Distribution: Tropical waters, less frequent in temperate regions; know from sothern California to Ecuador including Galapagos. California to Northern Peru and all the offshore islands of the Eastern Pacific. Circumtropical.
- Grove, J.S. Lavenberg, R.J. (1997) The Fishes of the Galapagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford California. 862 pp.
- Humann, P. Deloach, N. (2003) Reef Fish Identification - Galapagos. New World Publication, Inc. Florida USA & Libri Mundi, Quito, Ecuador, 226 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.
- IUCN (2010) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 April 2010.
- Baum, J. et. al. (2007) Sphyrna lewini www.iucnredlist.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.
- Edgar, G.J. Fariña, J.M., Calvopiña, M., Martínez, C. & Banks, S. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas II: Peces y macroinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 68-97.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- Hickin, N. (1979) Animal life of the Galapagos. Ferundune Books, Faringdon, U.K., 236 pp.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Sphyrna lewini", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7847. Accessed 7 May 2025.