What Do Hammerhead Sharks Eat?

The great hammerhead shark is one of the most fearsome predators in the ocean. They can grow as long as 20 feet and reach weights of around 1,000 pounds. With their hard-to-ignore appearance and unpredictable nature, it’s not surprising that people often have questions about them. One question that comes to mind is, “How does their distinctive head shape affect what they eat?” For that matter, what exactly do hammerhead sharks eat? Let’s take a closer look at the diet of the great hammerhead shark.

How Does That Odd-Shaped Head Affect Their Diet?

Hammerhead sharks have smaller mouths than sharks of comparable size. They are also unable to open their mouth as widely as other sharks. However, other adaptations make up for any deficiencies. Although they may have smaller mouths, they have 17 rows of teeth. Sharper and more serrated teeth are at the front, with flatter, larger teeth toward the back. This helps them to grab, crush, and grind their prey. With eyes placed at the ends of their elongated heads, a hammerhead’s field of vision is much better than that of other sharks, which aids in food detection.

Great hammerheads have straighter hammer-shaped heads. The lateral expansion of the head allows hammerheads to perform agile turning movements when hunting. When going after stingrays, hammerheads use their heads like actual hammers. They slam the stingray into the ocean floor, pinning it down until the stingray grows tired and they can successfully eat it. Hammerheads also have highly sensitive electroreceptive organs that enable them to detect small electrical impulses of their prospective prey. They can even locate prey buried deep in the sand of the ocean floor.

The Diet of the Hammerhead Shark

The great hammerhead shark has a varied diet. They are even believed to be cannibalistic, eating their own species to survive during harsh times. Hammerhead sharks can dive as deep as 984 feet, but they usually remain in coastal waters at depths closer to 328 feet. Great hammerheads generally feed on prey found on the seafloor.

The great hammerhead shark’s diet primarily includes:

• Stingrays
• Other rays and skates
• Bony fish such as grouper and sea catfish
• Crustaceans
• Octopus
• Squid
• Other sharks, including other hammerheads

Competition for Resources

Great hammerhead sharks are solitary hunters and generally search for prey at dusk. Hammerheads experience competition from other sharks and apex predators such as great white sharks and killer whales. There is little information on the amount of food great hammerheads require. However, in the wild, they are known as opportunistic feeders and will eat as much as they can catch.

Since great hammerhead sharks are apex predators, they have no marine predators once they reach adulthood. Unfortunately, they are in danger from humans, as their fins are valuable on the shark fin market. They can be caught as bycatch when fisheries are searching for other species as well. Sadly, these incredible sharks are currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.