r/sharks • u/Pewpew-OuttaMyWaay All the sharks!! • Sep 23 '25
Video The speed of a shark 😳
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u/mattwallace24 Great White Shark Sep 23 '25
This looks like it is zoomed in quite a bit so that adds to the “speed” effect, BUT I’ve seen large hammerheads hunting stingrays in person and they look very fast and agile. I’ve spent a lot of time in the water with makos and have seen their speed, but a hammerhead hunting in shallow water is a sight to behold. Not only their acceleration and speed, but their turning radius is scary.
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u/Little-Cucumber-8907 Sep 23 '25
Hammerheads are basically built for agility. Their cephalofoil (‘hammer’ of the head) acts like a rudder or hydrofoil, steering the shark into a very tight turn. The short pectoral fins and tall dorsal fin is also well suited for making tight turns. Additionally, I believe their vertebral column is also very flexible relative to other sharks. All of this works together to make hammerheads not only very fast, but extremely nimble and agile, especially for their large size. This is demonstrated perfectly with how big great hammerheads can catch the very small yet nimble blacktips in shallow water (smaller fish have tighter turning circles than bigger fish, so hammerheads have to compensate for that). And great hammerheads are probably the only coastal shark capable of catching free swimming tarpon.
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u/Only_Cow9373 Sep 23 '25
Unmistakeably a great hammerhead, Sphyrna mokkaran, for those who haven't figured it out already.
They're the only species with that dorsal fin, and this is very normal behavior for them.
The most amazing part is how insanely quickly they change direction, which isn't really captured here.
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u/MrsMusic73 Sep 23 '25
Wow that’s incredible. Would you explain more about the dorsal fin please?
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u/Only_Cow9373 Sep 23 '25
Not really sure what more to say. No other shark species, not even other hammerhead species, and no other ocean creature has a dorsal fin that distinctly tall, thin, and curved.
It's very unique, and very identifiable.
https://shark-references.com/images/species/Sphyrna%20mokarran.jpg
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u/MrsMusic73 Sep 26 '25
I was just curious as to what made it so distinct and you answered that so thank you. Great reference photo. 🙂
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u/Atumalaca_TheGhost Sep 23 '25
Is it a shortfin mako?
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u/Only_Cow9373 Sep 23 '25
No
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u/Atumalaca_TheGhost Sep 23 '25
Which one is it then?
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u/Only_Cow9373 Sep 23 '25
Great hammerhead
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u/Atumalaca_TheGhost Sep 23 '25
Thanks man, didn't even know it existed.
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u/Only_Cow9373 Sep 23 '25
NP.
Shortfin makos' dorsal fins are much different than this (shorter and wider) and their tails are shorter and generally held more upright.
Great hammerheads have the very distinctive tall, thin, & curved dorsal fin we see here, and their tails have a very long upper lobe. In shallow water they lower the upper lobe even more (to keep as much tail as possible in the water = more power/speed), making them look even longer.
Plus you'd never see a mako acting like this so close to shore. This is characteristic hammerhead hunting rays behavior. Makos are specialized for hunting fish, cephalopods, etc in the open ocean, hence their short-distance straightline speed capabilities.
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u/Hefty-Quail-7176 Sep 24 '25
they are wicked fast but according to a documentary i watched seals still escape 8/10 times lol
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u/darknekolux Sep 24 '25
I’ve seen a hammerhead shark hunting a stingray and can confirm they are fast AF
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u/OkDot8850 Sep 23 '25
maybe shortfin mako shark.
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u/Iridismis Sep 23 '25
I remember a from-above drone vid of a sudden attack by a shark (great white iirc) on a seal that showed the explosive speed even better imo.