I was quite surprised when I learned there are no known cases of man-eating hammerhead sharks. Facebook algorithms inundate my feed with numerous nature-oriented posts, and when I came across this fact, I couldn’t believe it. I consulted Google AI, and the results confirmed this fact. Hammerhead sharks have been responsible for 18 unprovoked attacks against humans but no confirmed fatalities. Great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarron), the largest hammerhead species, reach lengths of 20 feet and feed upon bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) –a species that is a confirmed man-eater. Great hammerheads are a dangerous species but ordinarily do not attack people.
There are 9-11 species of hammerhead sharks. Taxonomists don’t agree on the number.
Great hammerheads are a dangerous species but don’t ordinarily attack people. I don’t respect the intelligence of anyone who would attempt this stupid stunt.
Scalloped hammerheads don’t grow as large as great hammerheads.
Google AI’s list of shark attacks vastly undercounts the incidents, according to other sources I found on the web. Google AI admits it may be in error sometimes.
There are 9-11 species of hammerhead sharks–the uncertain number indicates a dispute among taxonomists. Genetic evidence suggests hammerheads diverged from other sharks about 20 million years ago, but some believe they may have begun diverging as early as the Eocene over 33 million years ago. Hammerhead shark teeth, dating to the Pleistocene, are commonly found.
The odd shape of the hammerhead is known as cephalofoil, and it serves several useful functions. It gives the sharks 360-degree vision, especially helpful when hunting prey. The hammerhead gives the sharks better electro sensory perception–another advantage–and they actually use their heads to pin prey to the ocean floor. This is useful when they prey upon stingrays, a species that normally hides in the sand on the ocean bottom.
While researching information for this blog, I found a wide discrepancy between Google AI and other sources on the total number of shark attack incidents and deaths. I counted the total number of fatal shark attacks on Google AI, and it was 124 since 1580. Wikipedia reports 459 fatalities just between 1958-2016. Wikipedia is likely more accurate in this case. There’s something wrong with Google AI’s information retrieval. Both use the International Shark Attack Files. Curiously, when I asked the question a slightly different way, Google AI mentions several of the more famous shark attack incidents in history, including the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945 when 859 sailors were eaten by sharks (more than the total in history from a previous search result). These numbers don’t include many 3rd world countries where some fatalities may go unreported.
3 species of sharks are responsible for most shark attack fatalities. Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) prey upon marine mammals and occasionally mistake humans for their normal prey. Bull sharks can survive in fresh water and often swim far up rivers. Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) are another confirmed man eater, perhaps because they will scavenge just about anything. Oceanic white tips (Carcharhinus longimamus) may be responsible for more fatalities than are known because they attack shipwreck and plane crash survivors who are never found. Bronze whaler sharks (C. brachyurus), so named because they used to congregate around whales killed by whalers, have been known to attack and kill men as well.
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