Scalloped hammerhead shark

Photo: Kris Mikael Krister · CC BY

Scalloped hammerheads visit Diamond Rock's deeper current-swept faces, particularly on the southern and western sides where upwellings concentrate prey. Their distinctive cephalofoil (hammer-shaped head) houses an extraordinarily dense array of electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini that allow them to detect the bioelectric fields of prey buried in sand — far more sensitive than sharks with conventional head shapes. They are critically endangered globally, and Caribbean sightings outside protected areas are increasingly rare; Diamond Rock's open-ocean exposure and reduced fishing pressure make it one of the most reliable hammerhead sites in the eastern Caribbean.