Great Hammerhead: The Sensor Hammer Shark

[00:00:00]This shark has a hammer for a reason.

[00:00:02]Meet Sphyrna mokarran. The great hammerhead is the biggest hammerhead.

[00:00:07]Average length 15 ft.

[00:00:10]Record size >> [music] >> about 20 ft.

[00:00:13]But the wild part is not the size.

[00:00:17]That wide [music] head, called a cephalofoil, can span about a quarter of its whole body.

[00:00:22]At dawn and [music] dusk, it sweeps that head over the sea floor reading tiny electric [music] signals from stingrays hidden under the sand.

[00:00:31]When it finds one, the hammer becomes a tool. It can pin the ray against the bottom, then pivot for the bite.

[00:00:40]And the surprise, [music] this giant often swims rolled onto its side using that tall [music] dorsal fin like a second wing.

[00:00:49]Scientists think it may spend up to 90% [music] of its time like this, cutting drag by 10%.

[00:00:57]So, the largest hammerhead is not just strange-looking. [music] It is a sensor, a clamp, and a glider all in one shark.