---
title: Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrnidae)
scientific_name: Sphyrnidae
common_name: Hammerhead sharks
rank: Family
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T20:59:57.915Z
tags: Hammerhead sharks, Sphyrnidae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/sharks/hammerhead-sharks
---

# Hammerhead sharks (*Sphyrnidae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Family
- **Scientific name:** Sphyrnidae
- **Body shape:** Torpedo - Streamlined and muscular, built for open-water speed - jacks, tunas, barracudas.
- **Species listed here:** 2

## How to recognise this group

- distinctive wide, flattened head (cephalofoil)
- eyes positioned at either end of wide head
- streamlined, muscular body typical of sharks
- large size, typically over 1.5 meters long

Hammerhead sharks are recognised by their distinctive flattened, laterally extended heads, known as cephalofoils. Their eyes are positioned at either end of this structure, with a small mouth located ventrally. Bodies are streamlined, typically grey to grey-brown dorsally, fading to white ventrally. Species in the group range from 1.5 m (5 ft) to over 4 m (13 ft) in length. The cephalofoil enhances sensory perception, particularly electroreception, and aids in manoeuvring and pinning prey.

These sharks inhabit offshore reefs and deeper reef slopes, often patrolling depths from 20 m to over 100 m (65-330 ft). While capable of ascending to shallower waters, they are primarily piscivorous, feeding on schooling fish, cephalopods, and rays. The Scalloped Hammerhead, commonly encountered in the Red Sea, often forms large schools during the day before dispersing to hunt individually at night.


## Species (2)

- [Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/sharks/hammerhead-sharks/great-hammerhead)
- [Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/sharks/hammerhead-sharks/scalloped-hammerhead)

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*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/sharks/hammerhead-sharks)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*