Unlike most sharks, some hammerhead species will congregate and swim in large schools during the day, becoming solitary hunters at night.

Based on DNA studies and fossils, the ancestor of the hammerheads probably lived in the Early Miocene epoch about 20 million years ago.

[11] The positioning of the eyes, mounted on the sides of the shark's distinctive hammer head, allows 360° of vision in the vertical plane, meaning the animals can see above and below them at all times.

[14][15] The shape of the head was previously thought to help the shark find food, aiding in close-quarters maneuverability, and allowing sharp turning movement without losing stability.

The unusual structure of its vertebrae, though, has been found to be instrumental in making the turns correctly, more often than the shape of its head, though it would also shift and provide lift.

The pores on the shark's head lead to sensory tubes, which detect electric fields generated by other living creatures.

[18] In 2007, the bonnethead shark was found to be capable of asexual reproduction via automictic parthenogenesis, in which a female's ovum fuses with a polar body to form a zygote without the need for a male.

Stingrays are a particular favorite, with the positioning of their (comparatively) smaller, crescent-shaped mouths underneath their T-shaped heads allowing for skilled skate, ray, and flounder hunting, among other seafloor-dwellers.

[20] In addition to the typical animal prey, bonnetheads have been found to feed on seagrass, which sometimes makes up as much as half their stomach contents.

Among others, scientists expressed their concern about the plight of the scalloped hammerhead at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Boston.

Fishermen who harvest the animals typically cut off the fins and toss the remainder of the fish, which is often still alive, back into the sea.

[37] The relatively small bonnethead is regular at public aquariums, as it has proven easier to keep in captivity than the larger hammerhead species,[38][39] and it has been bred at a handful of facilities.

[40] Nevertheless, at up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in length and with highly specialized requirements, very few private aquarists have the experience and resources necessary to maintain a bonnethead in captivity.

[39] The scalloped hammerhead is the most frequently maintained large species, and it has been kept long term at public aquaria in most continents, but primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia.

[46] The total number of hammerheads caught in fisheries is recorded in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Global Capture Production dataset.

[47] Among Torres Strait Islanders, the hammerhead shark, known as the beizam, is a common family totem and often represented in cultural artefacts such as the elaborate headdresses worn for ceremonial dances, known as dhari (dari).

[49][50] In native Hawaiian culture, sharks are considered to be gods of the sea, protectors of humans, and cleaners of excessive ocean life.

Hawaiian children who are born with the hammerhead shark as an animal sign are believed to be warriors and are meant to sail the oceans.