In June 2025, a scuba diver shared a fascinating close-up video of a great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) swimming right towards him in the Bahamas.
“Now, Queen, up close and personal, the largest great hammerhead ever filmed in the Bahamas,” said Alexander Schmidt, founder of shark diving expedition company Apex Ocean Divers, on Instagram.
In the footage, the shark in question – a female called Queen who measures over four metres long – swims directly towards the camera, paying no attention to the diver, before cruising over him.
The shot is filled with teeth and gills as the hammerhead passes by so closely that her whole head doesn’t fit in the frame.
“They’re evolution’s masterpiece,” said Schmidt, adding that their hammer-shaped heads (known as a cephalofoil) are “perfect to hold rays and feel the magnetic field of the planet!”
Credit: Alexander Schmidt (@alexsharks). Footage captured during a @apexoceandivers expedition
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