Carolina hammerhead

Species of shark

Carolina hammerhead
Conservation status

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Subdivision: Selachimorpha
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Sphyrnidae
Genus: Sphyrna
Species:
S. gilberti
Binomial name
Sphyrna gilberti
Quattro, Driggers, Grady, Ulrich & M. A. Roberts, 2013

The Carolina hammerhead (Sphyrna gilberti) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae, found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Their pupping grounds are in nearshore waters off the southeastern U.S. with the highest concentrations found in Bulls Bay, South Carolina.[3] The Carolina hammerhead has also been found in nearshore waters off of Brazil.[4] It was formally described in 2013.[5] It is currently classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List due to overfishing and habitat degradation.

Little is known about the habits of the species. It is a sister species to S. lewini. The Carolina hammerhead is named in honor of Carter Gilbert, who unknowingly recorded the first known specimen of the shark off Charleston, South Carolina, in 1967.[6] Dr. Gilbert, who was the curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History from 1961–1998, caught what he believed was an anomalous scalloped hammerhead shark with 10 fewer vertebrae than a typical scalloped hammerhead. It was not confirmed to be a different species altogether until Quattro's discovery in 2013. The general diet of the Carolina hammerheads consists of bony fishes and cephalopods such as squids, octopuses, and cuttlefishes. They also feed on shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and other smaller sharks and rays.

References

  1. ^ VanderWright, W.J.; Carlson, J.; Pollom, R.; Dulvy, N.K. (2020). "Sphyrna gilberti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T152783714A172115852. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T152783714A172115852.en. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ Barker, A.M.; Frazier, B.S.; Portnoy, D.S. (2021). "Distribution and relative abundance of scalloped (Sphyrna lewini) and Carolina (S. gilberti) hammerheads in the western North Atlantic Ocean". Fisheries Research. 242: 106039. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106039.
  4. ^ Pinhal, D. (2012). "Cryptic hammerhead shark lineage occurrence in the western South Atlantic revealed by DNA analysis". Marine Biology. 159 (4): 829-836. Bibcode:2012MarBi.159..829P. doi:10.1007/s00227-011-1858-5. S2CID 3954990.
  5. ^ Quattro, J.M.; Driggers, W.B. III; Grady, J.M.; Ulrich, G.F. & Roberts, M.A. (2013). "Sphyrna gilberti sp. nov., a new hammerhead shark (Carcharhiniformes, Sphyrnidae) from the western Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3702 (2): 159–178. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3702.2.5. PMID 26146715.
  6. ^ "The Carolina hammerhead, a new species of shark". University of South Carolina.
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Extant ground shark species
Carcharhinidae
(Requiem sharks)
  • (see Carcharhinidae)
Hemigaleidae
(Weasel sharks)
Hemipristis
  • Snaggletooth shark (H. elongata)
Chaenogaleus
  • Hooktooth shark (C. macrostoma)
Hemigaleus
  • Australian weasel shark (H. australiensis)
  • Sicklefin weasel shark (H. microstoma)
Paragaleus
  • Whitetip weasel shark (P. leucolomatus)
  • Atlantic weasel shark (P. pectoralis)
  • Slender weasel shark (P. randalli)
  • Straight-tooth weasel shark (P. tengi)
Leptochariidae
Leptocharias
  • Barbeled houndshark (L. smithii)
Proscylliidae
(Finback catsharks)
Ctenacis
  • Harlequin catshark (C. fehlmanni)
Eridacnis
  • Cuban ribbontail catshark (E. barbouri)
  • Pygmy ribbontail catshark (E. radcliffei)
  • African ribbontail catshark (E. sinuans)
Proscyllium
  • Graceful catshark (P. habereri)
  • Magnificent catshark (P. magnificum)
  • P. venustum
Pseudotriakidae
Gollum
  • Slender smooth-hound (G. attenuatus)
  • Sulu gollumshark (G. suluensis)
Planonasus
Dwarf false catshark (P. parini)
Pseudotriakis
  • False catshark (P. microdon)
Scyliorhinidae
(Catsharks)
(see Scyliorhinidae)
Sphyrnidae
(Hammerhead sharks)
Eusphyra
  • Winghead shark (E. blochii)
Sphyrna
  • Scalloped bonnethead (S. corona)
  • Whitefin hammerhead (S. couardi)
  • Carolina hammerhead (S. gilberti)
  • Scalloped hammerhead (S. lewini)
  • Scoophead (S. media)
  • Great hammerhead (S. mokarran)
  • Bonnethead (S. tiburo)
  • Smalleye hammerhead (S. tudes)
  • Smooth hammerhead (S. zygaena)
Triakidae
(Houndsharks)
  • (see Triakidae)
Taxon identifiers
Sphyrna gilberti


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