common bottlenose dolphin vs Great Hammerhead

Tursiops truncatus compared with Sphyrna mokarran

Key Differences

• common bottlenose dolphin is Least Concern while Great Hammerhead is Critically Endangered.
• common bottlenose dolphin lives longer (45 years vs 40 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common bottlenose dolphin	Great Hammerhead
Kingdom same	Animalia (hewan)	Animalia (hewan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (mamalia)	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)
Order	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Family	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)	Sphyrnidae (Hammerhead Sharks)
Genus	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)	Sphyrna (Hammerhead Sharks)
Species	Tursiops truncatus	Sphyrna mokarran

Evolutionary Relationship

common bottlenose dolphin and Great Hammerhead share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Great Hammerhead

CR — Critically Endangered

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common bottlenose dolphin	Great Hammerhead
Diet	Carnivore	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	45 years	40 years
Average Length	3.0 m	5.0 m
Average Weight	300.0 kg	450.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

common bottlenose dolphin

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 12 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Great Hammerhead

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Taiwan, and Venezuela. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

common bottlenose dolphin

The most studied and recognized dolphin species, bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate oceans worldwide, from coastal shallows to the open sea. Highly intelligent with large brains relative to body size, they demonstrate self-recognition, complex communication, and social learning. They live in fluid fission-fusion societies and cooperate to herd fish. A keystone indicator species for marine ecosystem health.

Great Hammerhead

The largest hammerhead shark species, great hammerheads reach up to 6 meters and are found in tropical and subtropical coastal waters worldwide. Their distinctive T-shaped head (cephalofoil) dramatically increases sensory surface area for electroreception, enabling them to detect buried stingrays through sand with exceptional precision — stingrays are a preferred prey. Critically Endangered, with populations declining dramatically due to highly valued fins and bycatch mortality.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇻🇪 Venezuela