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A group of fishermen were delighted when they caught a shark in the warm waters off Australia’s east coast.

So imagine their surprise when there was a bigger tug and they realised their catch was being swallowed by an even bigger fish.

This giant, weighing one and a quarter tonnes and measuring 20ft long, was caught off the north coast of New South Wales and is thought to be at least 40 years old.

Vic Hislop, who runs a shark museum in Queensland, was so excited by news of the catch that he bought the shark, which died as it was hauled to shore.

‘It’s a magnificent specimen, that’s for sure,’ said Mr Hislop. ‘I’m planning to freeze it and then put it on display at the shark museum.’

Some species of hammerheads are on the global endangered list but they are not renowned for attacking humans, unlike the man-eating great white shark.

What might be a warning for swimmers to exercise caution about where they chose to swim is Mr Hislop’s comment to Brisbane’s Courier Mail that ‘while this one is huge, it’s not the biggest one I’ve seen’.

Sharks are known to feed at dawn and dusk, so people are advised to avoid the ocean at those times to further reduce their small chance of a shark attack.

Hammerheads, which are found in warm waters around the world, get their name from the shape of their heads, which are flattened and extend sideways.

This is thought to help them move in close to their prey and to find food on the sea bed.

While they are not notorious for killing humans, the International Shark Attack file lists them as seventh among sharks that pose a danger to people, the most dangerous being the great white.

In recent years there have been 33 reported hammerhead attacks on humans, but none have been fatal.

story via dailymail