matter, and had cellulose-component-degrading enzyme activity in their hindgut. Reproduction The bonnethead shark is viviparous. Females reach sexual maturity around , while males reach maturity around . Four to 12 pups are born in late summer and early fall, measuring . Bonnetheads have one of the shortest gestation periods among sharks, lasting only 4.5–5.0 months. A bonnethead female produced a pup by parthenogenesis. The birth took place at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska; DNA analysis showed a perfect match between mother and pup. Conservation The bonnethead was formerly classified as a least-concern species by the IUCN. It is heavily targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries and constitutes up to 50% of all small shark landings in the Eastern US, but is still reasonably abundant there as well as in the Atlantic Coasts of the Bahamas and Mexico. However, significant declines have been reported in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Central America and massive declines along with widespread disappearance on the Atlantic Coast of South America as well as most of the shark's Pacific range, leading it to be uplifted to 'Endangered" in 2020. Since October 2021, S. tiburo has been classified as Largely Depleted by the IUCN. References External links Species Description of Sphyrna tiburo at www.shark-references.com Sphyrna Viviparous fish Fish of the Americas Fish of the Dominican Republic Fish of the Caribbean Fish of the Western Atlantic Western American coastal fauna Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus