The Hammerhead Shark. I honestly thought I’d never get to see one. But I had the most epic dive on my last trip to Jupiter, Florida. We had beautiful visibility and spent time with the usual resident lemon sharks, nurse sharks, and bull sharks. We were treated to TWO beautiful tiger sharks, and on our very last dive, we not only had ALL the previous mentioned sharks, but a gorgeous Great Hammerhead came through and hung out with us! FIVE species of amazing sharks on ONE freaking dive. A tiger shark and hammerhead shark swimming together at the same time. Mind. Blown.
Hammerhead Facts:
- The great hammerhead is the largest of the nine identified species of this shark. It can grow up to 20 feet in length and weigh up to 1,000 pounds, although smaller sizes are more common.
- Their wide-set eyes give them a better visual range than most other sharks. And by spreading their highly specialized sensory organs over their wide, mallet-shaped head, they can more thoroughly scan the ocean for food.
- The hammerhead consumes invertebrates, jellyfish, crabs and octopi, as well as other bony fish. While they will eat nearly any animal in the ocean, the hammerhead seems to prefer the stingray.
- They use their wide head to pin stingrays to the sea floor
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