Brief Summary: The Evolution Of Hammerhead Sharks

Evolution of Hammerhead Sharks Hammerhead sharks are an interesting species of shark. They carry an odd appearance with their “hammer” shaped heads, which is much different than all other species of shark. Most scientists suggest that the earliest ancestor of hammerhead sharks appeared about twenty-million years ago in the Miocene Era. There were two other lineages of sharks that actually broke off from the hammerhead, the winghead shark and the bonnethead shark. Hammerheads are a smaller type of shark, so it is accepted that larger hammerheads evolved and got smaller, while smaller ones evolved independently. There are nine different species of hammerhead, they are all different sizes and have different shaped hammers. Hammerheads will

One of these advantages is vision. The Hammerhead has much better binocular vision than other large oceanic predators because sharks with wider heads have the better vision. This allows them to track down quick prey and feast on them. Another perk is being able to have 360 degree vision. They can see prey above and below them, simultaneously. These sharks also have premier depth perception, they have a 10 to 48 degree of overlap in vision, which gives them fantastic depth perception. Another advantage of this “hammer” that is not related to vision, is the large amount of electrical sensors that are located in their flattened noses. These sensors allow the sharks to detect even the weakest of electrical emissions from their prey. This hammer can also act as a method of balance and composure when making sharp turns. So, although these may not be the largest of sharks, they have remarkable abilities to track down and hunt their prey due to the advantages that the “hammer” brings to them. This hammer evolved almost overnight in evolution, it has been said that is was a genetic mutation that was such an advantage that it spread throughout a population and created the hammerhead

But how did we get sharks? And then how did we get hammerheads? Well, sharks have been in the ocean for about 450 million years. This was during the early devonian period and it is recommended by scientists, and accepted that sharks evolved from fish. The first modern sharks were known as Sixgill, Sevengill, and Frilled. These three sharks appeared from 190-95 million years ago. They were the first offshore-deepwater predators. Before that, most shark were small, near shore predators, who lived in very shallow waters. Then during the Tertiary Period, which was 65-35 million years ago, the so-called “filter-feeders” came along. These are the types of sharks who evolved away from being predators, and fed on plankton and other small marine