Scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini).
Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Fish
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2019 global assessment of Sphyrna lewini says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28
Conservation overview
The scalloped hammerhead is a wide-ranging shark with a distinctive hammer-shaped head. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
Young sharks often gather in coastal nurseries, and adults sometimes form large schools.
Range & habitat
Warm coastal and offshore waters worldwide.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Overfishing, including for the shark-fin trade
- Bycatch
Why it matters
As a heavily fished apex predator, the scalloped hammerhead is a flagship for shark conservation and for tackling the fin trade.
Gallery
Scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini).
Image: Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Scalloped Hammerhead
- IUCN Red List — look up Scalloped Hammerhead (authoritative status)
- NOAA Fisheries
- Animal Diversity Web