Hammerhead sharks are some of the most recognizable species on earth, weird heads, intense sensory abilities, and a shockingly large and diverse family. Here’s the full breakdown of all confirmed species.

First comes understanding the family, known as Sphyrnidae which is then further split into two distinct genera, Sphyrna and Eusphyra. There are currently 9 known species of hammerheads with a tenth of which remains highly disputed and considered by most to not be a distinct species of hammerhead.

Confirmed hammerhead species include:

The Great Hammerhead Shark is the largest of all hammerhead species, growing up to 6 metres in length, they present with a strong hammer and prefer warm, tropical waters.

The Scalloped Hammerhead gives us the classic hammerhead silhouette with a deeply notched hammer, they tend to form large schools and exhibit impeccable electroreception.

The Smooth Hammerhead prefers colder waters, its hammer appears with no center notch, it’s often found in temperate zones, but is big, fast, and underrated.

The Bonnethead Shark is a small herbivore-like shark with a small shovel shaped head, the only shark shown to digest sea grass. It is a calm, coastal and social species.

The Scoophead Hammerhead is a small, tropical fish with a narrow head, it spends time in coastal shallows and is often confused with juvenile lewini.

The Scalloped Bonnethead is a rare and unusual sharks with a distinct crown ridge within its hammer, they are tiny sharks that live in shallow murky waters.

The Smalleye Hammerhead has tiny eyes, an unusual bright yellow belly of which is a result of eating shrimp, they tend to inhabit coastal, muddy areas.

The Carolina Hammerhead  is often referred to as the hidden species as it was only discovered in 2013 and looks almost identical to the scalloped hammerhead, but was proven distinct with genetic material.

The Winghead Shark has the widest hammer of all species, up to half the width of its body, it’s got an incredible sensory range and prefers warm Indo-Pacific waters.

The Debated Species Is Sphyrna couardi, may be seen listed in historical literature but is generally considered now a days to be fictitious, it was originally described with a basis of poor specimen collections and genetic data indicates it may be misidentifed with Sphyrna tudes. Majority of taxonomists consider it to be a nomen dubium.