Lubitz, Nicolas, Scheele, Oliver, and Scheele, Lawrence (2026) Novel insights into the hunting behaviour of the winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii) from an aerial observation. Pacific Conservation Biology, 32. PC26046.

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Abstract

Direct records of hunting behaviour in hammerhead sharks are limited, particularly for the Critically Endangered winghead shark (Eusphyra blochii). We report on an opportunistic drone-based observation of a winghead shark pursuing and consuming a teleost fish at Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia. During the interaction, the shark alternated between rapid turning manoeuvres and directed pursuit while repeatedly re-establishing proximity to its prey following attempted escapes. As the encounter progressed, the shark maintained a close-range pursuit, including repeated dorsoventral adjustments of the cephalofoil in response to vertical prey movements, and rapid, sharp turns before ultimately capturing and consuming the fish. These observations are consistent with hypotheses that the expanded cephalofoil of winghead sharks enhances manoeuvrability and facilitates pursuit of agile teleost prey.

Item ID:	92854
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2204-4604
Keywords:	cephalofoil, hammerhead sharks, hunting, winghead shark
Copyright Information:	© 2026 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2026 05:47
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100%
SEO Codes:	18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100%
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