Expert Article Final Draft with Works Cited

STOP! It’s Hammertime…

Discover the great mysteries of the Hammerhead Shark

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

Let’s take a dive. How far will you go to spot the Mufasa of the sea? The deeper you dive, the scarier it gets. Since the beginning of mankind, marine biologists have tried to uncover the mystifying depths of the ocean. But what if I said I could finally uncover the hidden secrets that have been locked hundreds of miles below the surface for so long? Take a shark bite and find out.

Southern California’s warm waters brings more than just surfers and suntans to the coastline. Although hammerhead sharks were just recently added to the endangered species list, a shocking sighting of a 7-footer in Huntington Beach captures the attention of the locals and reporters in all of the area (Perez). What are they doing so close to the shore? Why do they have elongated heads and wide set eyes? Other than their appealing and unique aesthetics, why are hammerhead sharks so intriguing? Read further, as I guide you into the misleading world of the hammerhead shark.

What’s wrong with their head?

Have you ever wondered why the head of a hammerhead shark is so oddly shaped? Believe it or not, there is a purpose behind their anatomy. The head’s shape is specifically designed to pin down the shark’s favorite treat under the sand: the stingray. Stingrays innate ability to lie completely flat on the ocean floor make them no easy prey to slay. The head of the shark resembles a metal detector in that it uses electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini, to scour over the sand and detect the stingrays electrical pulse (“Hammerhead Shark”). As if that feature isn’t distinct enough, hammerheads also have panoramic vision. The location of their eyes allows them to essentially have 360-degree view, the only blind spot being right in front of their nostrils (“Hammerhead Sharks-National Geographic”). Being primarily bottom feeders, their limitless vision enables them to hunt camouflaged small creatures such as squid, crab and sardine that live at the bottom of the ocean.

Let’s talk about sex.

How does a shark have sex one might ask? Well, their mating and birth processes are incredibly similar to ours.  Hammerhead sharks are viviparous, meaning that the fertilized eggs hatch inside a female and after a gestation period of about 11 months, the offspring (also known as “pups”) are released into the waters. A typical litter consists of anywhere from 20-50 pups (Edwards)! Male sharks typically scope out the larger females because they can carry three to four times more pups than smaller females. However, romancing with females is not an easy task. Female hammerheads tend to travel in groups of 100 or more, with the largest residing in the middle of the pack for protection from the males. Once the male shark spots his lady, he pulls her out to the open ocean where they can have a little privacy (Ince). From here, the waters start to get a little rough. The male portrays his dominance by aggressively biting and whipping the female until she submits to him, similar to a Fifty Shades of Grey routine. After the female has become his submissive, the sharks begin the mating process as most mammals do; through sexual intercourse. Fun fact: sharks have two penises known as claspers that channel semen into the females. It’s a shame they don’t mate for pleasure.

To make matters even more interesting, a recent study has revealed that female sharks can reproduce asexually. In an unusual method called parthenogenesis, females can fertilize their own eggs without the need for male sperm (Queen’s University Belfast). Though the ability to switch between sexual and asexual reproduction may seem advantageous, it also poses a threat to the species. Without paternal DNA, asexual reproduction reduces genetic diversity and increases the likelihood of genetically disadvantaged offspring.

Trained Assassins!

Scream. Panic. Freak. If you are the typical uninformed beachgoer in the ocean, when you see a shark fin popping out of the water your first instinct is probably to swim away, assuming you aren’t already in paralytic shock. What you have in common with millions of other people who have the same fleeing instincts, is that you are unaware that the chance of you dying from a shark attack is 77 times less likely than dying from a lightening strike (“5 Things More Likely Than A Shark Attack”). Yeah…take a second and really process that. As Finding Nemo’s Great White Shark Bruce once said: “Fish are friends, not food.” Since 1580, only 33 hammerhead shark attacks have ever been recorded, none being fatal (“Has There Ever Been a Fatal Hammerhead Shark Attack Recorded?”). If I were to see a shark fin above water and a hammerhead shape beneath me, there would actually be a moment of relief knowing they pose no real threat. Of the nine known species of hammerheads, only 3 of them have ever attacked a human: Great, Scalloped and Smooth.

Save The Sharks!

Knowing that hammerheads are relatively harmless, it's surprising that last year scalloped hammerheads became the first shark on the U.S. Endangered Species List (Shiffman). Since the 1950s, populations have decreased by 99 percent, primarily due to overfishing (“Great Hammerhead Shark”). Shark fin soup has been a delicacy in China since the Ming dynasty. With each bowl costing anywhere from $5 to $2000, it is safe to say you aren’t merely paying for the taste (“History of Shark Fin Soup”). Ordering shark fin soup signifies the customers’ wealth and self esteem. People are placing value on financial eminence and societal status over free will of the animals whom we share our home. Since when has monetary value possessed more beauty than watching a hammerhead shark swim swiftly below the surface? How did we establish superiority over a creature whose habitat covers 70 percent of our earth? These creatures are hunted for sport and then thrown back as bait, yet we call them the killers? Take a look in the mirror and let’s make a better reflection of ourselves. Now that you have been empowered with this information, join my efforts and save the next hammerhead!

  

Works Cited

"Check Out These Amazing Hammerhead Shark Facts!" SharkSider. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://www.sharksider.com/hammerhead-shark/>.

Edwards, Steven. "Hammerhead Sharks Reproduce Asexually." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 23 May 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wired.com/2007/05/hammerhead_shar/>.

"Great Hammerhead Shark - Our Endangered World." Our Endangered World. N.p., 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://www.ourendangeredworld.com/species/sharks-fish/great-hammerhead-shark/>.

"Hammerhead Shark." Shark Facts and Information. BioExpedition, 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://www.sharks-world.com/hammerhead_shark/>.

"Hammerhead Sharks - Hammerhead Pictures - Shark Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/hammerhead-shark/>.

"Has There Ever Been a Fatal Hammerhead Shark Attack Recorded?"Answers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://www.answers.com/Q/Has_there_ever_been_a_fatal_Hammerhead_shark_attack_recorded>.

"History of Shark Fin Soup." History of Shark Fin Soup –. Shark Truth, 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://www.sharktruth.com/learn/history-of-shark-fin-soup/>.

Ince, Sarah DeWitt. "How Do Hammerhead Sharks Mate?" EHow. Demand Media, 2015. Web. 22 Sept. 2015. <http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4569342_hammerhead-sharks-mate.html>.

Perez, Jessica, and Hetty Chang. "Warmer Weather Drawing More Sharks to SoCal Coast." NBC Southern California. NBCUniversal Media, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/shark-california-beach-spotted-closed-hammerhead-328115911.html>.

Queen's University Belfast. "No Sex Please, We're Female Sharks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 May 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070523072254.htm>.

Shiffman, David. "Calloped Hammerheads Become First Shark Species on the U.S. Endangered Species List." Scientific American. A Division of Nature America, 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scalloped-hammerheads-become-first-shark-species-on-the-u-s-endangered-species-list/>.

"5 Things More Likely Than a Shark Attack." 5 Things More Likely Than a Shark Attack. The Diving Blog, 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://www.thedivingblog.com/5-things-more-likely-than-shark-attack/>.