Bonnethead Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)

In my last review I touched on the diversity of the hammerhead family Sphyrnidae while covering a toy representative of the family’s largest member, the great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran). Today we’re covering another member of that family, but one that is quite different from the great hammerhead and from what we think of when we think of hammerheads in general. In fact, this animal’s common name doesn’t even include the name hammerhead; this is the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo).

This particular bonnethead figure was produced by Safari Ltd. in 2016 and to the best of my knowledge it is the only plastic figure available of this species. It measures 5.51” (13.9 cm) in length. Bonnethead sharks are a small species, growing 2-5’ (0.61-1.5 meters) in length with females growing larger than males. This puts the Safari bonnethead at about 1/10 scale if you’re scaling it down from the maximum length of 5’ (1.5 meters).

What is immediately distinctive about the bonnethead is its uniquely shaped and small cephalofoil. Indeed, the shovel shaped cephalofoil of the bonnethead is the smallest of all hammerhead cephalofoils. This might lead one to think that the bonnethead is a primitive species but that’s not the case, the bonnethead is actually a young species when compared to other hammerheads.

Safari has made a variety of interesting and well executed shark toys within recent years, and this one is no exception. The cephalofoil is perhaps the most important feature to get right on a bonnethead and this toy excels in that instance. The mouth is exquisitely detailed, closed with sculpted teeth that are just barely visible. Overall the model appears elegant and lifelike. The correct number of five gill slits are sculpted on each side of the head but on the right side one of the gill slits is almost unnoticeable, perhaps it’s a mold defect or something and it could be unique to my particular figure. This toy represents a female bonnethead since it lacks claspers.

I do have a few nit picks with regards to the anatomy of this toy. The rear tip of the first dorsal should be in front of the pelvic origin but there is a bit of overlap there. The body appears too short overall with not enough space between the pectoral and pelvic fins. Although bonnetheads have a tall first dorsal fin it appears oversized on this figure. Another criticism, although not concerning the anatomy, is that the fins are pliable and prone to warping. The bend on the lower lobe of the caudal fin is particularly bad on my figure.

The toy is painted in a flat steely gray color with white underside. Bonnethead coloration tends to be gray or brown, and sometimes has a green tint. Some specimens also have spots along the sides. The colors on this shark are conservative but compliment it well and the paint itself is well applied. On the underside is the mandatory production information that all of these toys have but on this toy it is quite bold and prominent, so much so that it detracts greatly from the otherwise lifelike toy.

Overall, despite a short list of nit picks, I really like this toy and would happily give it a five star rating. I would say that it is an essential toy to any collection that wishes to highlight shark diversity. Most hammerhead toys are just “hammerheads” without clearly identifying what species of hammerhead they are and it’s great to have this somewhat obscure species represented on my shelf.