Critically EndangeredGreat Hammerhead
Sphyrna mokarran
Cartilaginous fish · Rhinopristiformes · Pristidae
Pristis pectinata
At extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild.
Its striking toothed rostrum, which can make up as much as a quarter of its total body length, serves at once as a hunting weapon and a sensory organ.
Weight
200 kg – 350 kg
Size
4 m – 5.5 m
Life expectancy
27 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sources consulted: ResearchGate (USA biology ecology status study) · NOAA Repository (Florida waters age growth study) · Animal Diversity Web · PMC (LA-ICP-MS vertebrae age study) · FWC Florida · Canvas of the Wild · FishBase
Best time: All year round in southern Florida and the Bahamas, the only places where a stable population remains, in mangroves and shallow estuaries.
The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Smalltooth Sawfish — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The smalltooth sawfish is classified as critically endangered. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 6 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about smalltooth sawfish.
