Species Facts
Science Name:
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Sphyrna tiburo
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Other Names:
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shovelhead
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Size:
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about 1 m (3.4 ft) long
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World Record:
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11.79 kg (26 lb 0 oz)
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Distribution and Habitat
This species lives in the Western Hemisphere where the water is usually warmer than 70 °F (21 °C). It ranges from New England, where it is rare, to the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, and from southern California to Ecuador. During the summer it is common in the inshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia; in spring, summer, and fall, it is found off Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico. In the winter, the bonnethead shark is found closer to the equator, where the water is warmer.
Sources
1.^ BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Captive shark had 'virgin birth'
Cortés (2000). Sphyrna tiburo. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
"Sphyrna tiburo". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=160502. Retrieved 23 January 2006.
Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2005). "Sphyrna tiburo" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.