Kingdom Animalia Class Chondrichthyes Superorder Selachimorpha Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Subclass Elasmobranchii Order Carcharhiniformes | |
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Similar Sphyrna, Scalloped bonnethead, Scoophead, Whitefin hammerhead, Smalleye hammerhead | ||
The Carolina hammerhead, (Sphyrna gilberti) is a species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae, found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Their pupping grounds are off the coast of South Carolina. It was formally described in 2013.
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Biology
Little is known about the habits of the species. It is a sister species to S. lewini, with S. gilberti having ten fewer vertebrae.
Etymology
The Carolina Hammerhead is named in honor of Carter Gilbert who unknowingly recorded the first known specimen of the shark off Charleston, SC in 1967. Mr. Gilbert, who was the curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History from 1961-1998 caught what he believed was an anomalous Scalloped Hammerhead shark with 10 fewer vertebrae than a typical Scalloped Hammerhead. It was not until Quattro's discovery in 2013 that it was confirmed to be a different species altogether.