Keywords
eastern Mediterranean
historical occurrence
evidence based record
How to Cite
Abstract
The screening of data sources has revealed five evidence-based records of the smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena captured or sighted in Turkish Aegean and Mediterranean waters between 1977 and 2015. Three individuals were recorded in the Aegean Sea and two in the north Levantine Sea. Despite previous reports on the occurrence of S. lewini and S. tudes in Turkish waters, these two species of hammerhead shark are apparently absent from the region and may not have ever inhabited the Turkish coast at all. The occurrence data of smooth hammerhead shark for the period from 1977 to 2015 (n=5; 0.13 individuals per year) shows that S. zygaena is a very rare shark in Turkish waters.
References
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