Sharks are not only threatened, but also have a low fecundity as they are being overfished. The shark family, Sphyrnidae, consists of nine species of which three are found in South African oceans. One of the three Sphyrnidae species, the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) are the most common, but their biology and mode of reproduction are not extensively studied in terms of their reproductive biology. The aim of this study was to describe the germ cell development in the testes of sexually mature male scalloped hammerheads. Three individual male S. lewini were caught at Zinkwazi, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The sharks and their reproductive organs were weighed and measured to collect the biometric data for the condition factor and the gonado-somatic index. Following standard necropsy, the testes were fixed in Bouin’s solution and processed for histological assessment. The histological assessment revealed that the testes of S. lewini consist of seminiferous tubules which form part of a larger lobular structure with germ cells in different stages of development, from spermatogonia to mature spermatozoa. Seven stages of development were identified during the process of spermatogenesis, similar to what has been described for elasmobranchs. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that the testes of S. lewini are diametrical and polyspermatocystic and conforms to the testes structure of elasmobranch males.

鲨鱼不仅受到威胁，而且由于过度捕捞，它们的繁殖力也很低。鲨鱼科，Sphyrnidae，由九个物种组成，其中三个在南非海洋中发现。三种 Sphyrnidae 物种之一，扇贝锤头 ( Sphyrna lewini ) 是最常见的，但它们的生物学和繁殖方式在其生殖生物学方面并未得到广泛研究。这项研究的目的是描述性成熟雄性扇贝锤头的睾丸中的生殖细胞发育。三只个体雄性S. lewini在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的 Zinkwazi 被捕。对鲨鱼及其生殖器官进行称重和测量，以收集条件因子和性腺体细胞指数的生物特征数据。标准尸检后，将睾丸固定在 Bouin 溶液中并进行组织学评估。组织学评估表明，S. lewini的睾丸由生精小管组成，这些小管形成较大的小叶结构的一部分，生殖细胞处于不同的发育阶段，从精原细胞到成熟的精子。在精子发生过程中确定了七个发育阶段，类似于对弹鳃的描述。总之，这项研究提供了证据表明S. lewini的睾丸 是直径的和多精囊的，并且符合弹鳃雄性的睾丸结构。