The Hammer-Headed Shark

  Zygaena tudes (Sphyrna tudes) is the hammer-headed shark, readily distinguished by the curious shape of its head. As its popular name indicates, the outline of the front part of the body of this shark resembles that of a hammer, the head being markedly hammer-like and produced sideways into two lateral lobes. The eyes are placed at the lateral extremities of these lobes and the nostrils are placed on its front border. The Tamil name, "komban sorrah", meaning "horned shark" alludes to the resemblance of the lateral lobes of the head to a pair of horns. It is commonly seen in fish markets, and its liver oil has great market value, as it is very rich in vitamin A content.

The Plough or Guitar Fish (Rhynchobatus djeddensis)

   The plough fish is greyish brown above with white spots. This fish grows to a length of six feet, and the oil from its liver is much esteemed. Plough fishes feed on burrowing molluscs living on the floor of the ocean. The narrow, pointed snout helps them to shovel the sand and get the molluscs. This habit of digging in the floor of the sea and causing burrows has been responsible for the popular name "shovel-nosed fish" or "plough fish", the alternative names is "Guitar fish" and "fiddler fish" allude to the peculiar shape of the fish.

Lion or Scorpion Fish

  It is oblong laterally compressed or sub cylindrical. The dorsal fin is single, but disposed in two distinct portions, a spiny anterior and a soft, posterior portion. The spines of the dorsal fin are numerous and strongly developed. Some of the bones of the head are armed. The body is either without scales, or covered with ctenoid scales.