Stunning shovel-shaped hammerhead shark species discovered in Atlantic Ocean

According to a recent study , twenty-three shark specimens were tested to confirm that a separate species in the family Sphyrnidae—what we commonly know as the hammerhead shark—exist.

Upon first glance, their cephalofoil—the typical head protrusion characteristic of a hammerhead shark—resembles a shovel more so than a hammer, earning them the common name “shovelbill” as the people of Belize call them.

The researchers found a “robust difference“ in mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers. In other words, they compared the DNA with that of a related species, S. tiburon , to assess whether they were genetically different enough. And in this case, they were.

A genetic split happened millions of years ago

From the Late Pliocene to the Holocene, or more than two million years ago, study authors believe geological changes might have separated some bonnetheads and enabled speciation to occur. They weren’t alone, either, as other species, even plants and other sharks, experienced a split.

Upon closer examination, the S. alleni and S. vespertine, the smallest of the hammerheads, might be sisters. Acco rding to the study, the S. tiburon might have split off as it expanded into the subtropical and temperate Atlantic, with the S. vespertine dividing again later into the S. alleni.

After collecting what they believed to be S. alleni sharks around Florida and Belize, they analyzed their teeth, anatomical structure, and tissue. They took radiographs of their vertebral column and evaluated their DNA.

They identified two gene pools, so they could classify them as two distinct species, even if they might have originated from the same one. But it seems like the people of Belize already knew the Shovelbill given that they named it that.

Bonnetheads are not only an amphi-American species but are listed as endangered. This research even suggests that S. alleni are “highly threatened,” and their populations should be rebuilt, which would mean restricting the use of gillnets and trawls as these gears catch these coastal species the most.

Save the hammerheads

This study not only brings to attention a new species of hammerheads, specifically the bonnets, but a family in danger native to every continent except Antarctica that helps maintain healthy oceans .

Unthreatened by predators besides humans, though attacks have been recorded, hammerhead sharks swim freely and in groups , sometimes up to 500 in number, eating small fish and stingrays. Some species eat seagrass, though, preferring to remain vegetarian.

Scientists believe that the size of their heads means a greater number of electroreceptors, which increases their navigational and prey detection abilities. These sharks even use their heads to ram and pin down their prey when necessary. Their eyes are on the sides of their hammerheads, so they possess 360-degree vision but cannot see what’s directly in front of them. They can swim sideways though.

Some fun additional facts in support of the hammerheads: they can tan and have virgin births . Females can fertilize their own eggs, most commonly witnessed in the bonnetheads, so they are even special. But to each its own, upon birth, each hammerhead must fend for themselves.

Hopefully, this research will support conservation efforts, so that they continue to, as they are millions of years old.