Sphyrna tiburo
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo), also called a bonnet shark or shovelhead, is the smallest member of the hammerhead shark genus Sphyrna, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. It is an abundant species in the littoral zone of the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, is the only shark species known to display sexual dimorphism in the morphology of the head, and is one of two shark species known to be omnivorous.
The shark is characterized by a broad, smooth, spade-like head: it has the smallest cephalofoil (hammerhead) of all Sphyrna species. The body is grey-brown above and lighter on the underside. Typically, bonnethead sharks are about 80–90 cm (2.6–3.0 ft) long, with a maximum size of about 150 cm (4.9 ft). The generic name Sphyrna probably derives from a misspelling of sphyra, the Greek word for "hammer"; the specific name tiburo derives from the Spanish word tiburón, meaning "shark".
Bonnethead sharks are the only sharks known to exhibit sexual dimorphism in the morphology of the head. Adult females have a broadly rounded head, whereas males possess a distinct bulge along the anterior margin of the cephalofoil. This bulge... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bonnethead sighting in Padre Island National Seashore on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bonnethead sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Padre Island National Seashore, in our data
Padre Island National Seashore is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Bonnethead sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bonnethead is recorded against all the sharks and rays logged in Padre Island National Seashore (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
