After a long gestation, females give birth to living, fully developed offspring. They reproduce once a year, and birth usually up to 15 pups. Great hammerheads can birth up to 40 pups per litter.
Only eggs laid on the back of the female can develop. Those that have fallen to the bottom of the water body die.
In the first few days of development, some of the eggs that have been shallowly buried in the female’s skin are also pushed out by eggs deeper in the skin.