Scalloped hammerhead shark

(Sphyrna lewini)

feisty females fight for attention

Diet

Feed mostly on bony fish, squid and occasionally sharks and rays.

Habitat

A coastal pelagic semi-oceanic species found worldwide in coastal warm, temperate and tropical seas.

Fin-tastic facts

These majestic sharks gather in their hundreds at huge volcanic seamounts that project out of the seabed. They come here to be cleaned and to find a mate, circling the seamount in a sort of “dance”. Females outnumber the males a staggering 6 to 1 and gather on the inside of the circle, while males circle on the outside. The females fight it out for the best position in the circle by using body language and striking subordinates with the underside of their jaw, forcing them to the outer reaches of the circle. The dominant females are almost always found closest to the seamount, and the confident sexually mature males tend to pick these ones first as their large size means they can produce more offspring. To let the female know he is ready to mate with her, he performs a gesture known as a “torso-thrust”, and if she accepts him the pair swim to the bottom of the seamount to mate. During the night the sharks disperse up to 10 miles away from the seamount to hunt, but at dawn they all return to begin the “dance” again.