Lemon Shark, Negaprion breviostris
Lemon Shark, Negaprion breviostris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Islamorada, Florida, February 2017. Length: 1.83 m (6 feet 0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Lemon Shark, Negaprion breviostris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Islamorada, Florida, February 2017. Length: 1.83 m (6 feet 0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Marc Eberlein, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lemon Shark, Negaprion breviostris. Fish caught from coastal waters of the Southeast United States, December 2021. Length: 1.92 m (6 feet 4 inches). Catch and identification courtesy of Marc Eberlein, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Lemon Shark, Negaprion breviostris. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, April 2023. Length: 2.30 m (7 feet 6 inches). Weight: 135 kg (300 lbs). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.
The Lemon Shark, Negaprion brevbiostris, is a member of the Requiem Shark or Carcharhinidae Family, and is known in Mexico as tiburón limón. It is named for is color. Globally, there are two species in the genus Negaprion with this species being found in Mexican waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
The Lemon Shark is large in stature and has a stout body. The Lemon Shark is a uniform yellow-brown to olive-brown color dorsally transitioning to a pale yellowish-white ventrally. They are without significant markings. Their anal fin is large but smaller than the second dorsal fin and has a strongly notched rear margin; their caudal fin is strongly asymmetrical with a well-developed lower lobe; their first dorsal fin is low and triangular shaped and originates behind the pectoral fins; the second dorsal fin is similar in size and shape to the first dorsal fin and originates over the anal fin; their pectoral fins are broad, and their pelvic fins have weakly concave margins. Their head is broad and flat with a broad round to bluntly angular snout that is shorter than the width of the mouth. They have small rounded eyes. Their mouth is arched and ends well past the eyes and is equipped numerous narrowly triangular teeth with a triangular straight point on both jaws. They have 5 gill slits, the last 2 being over the pectoral fins. They are covered with large overlapping dermal denticles.
The Lemon Shark is a common large shark that is found in groups and loose aggregations of similar sized individuals in shallow subtropical waters as well as within coral reefs, mangroves, bays and river mouths (but They do not enter freshwater). They can also be found in the open ocean at depths up to 92 m (300 feet). They are known to congregate near docks and piers at night and return to deep water during daylight hours. They reach a maximum length of 3.68 m (11 feet 1 inch) and 184 kg (405 lbs) in weight, with females being slightly larger than males. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 184 kg (405 lbs) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Buxton, North Carolina in November 1988. They reside in warm-water habitats, preferring waters that are greater than 30oC (86oF), with rocky or sandy substate, normally in or near shallow-water mangroves due to the availability of prey and for protection against predation. Larger fish can be found in deep water environments. They are nighttime predators that locate prey by electroreception. They mainly consume fish, supplementing their diets with crustaceans and benthic organisms. They are known to practice cannibalism of their young. An individual shark that catches a large prey will attract other sharks and cause a feeding frenzy. In turn their juveniles are subject to be preyed upon by larger sharks such as large Hammerheads. Juveniles rely heavily on camouflage that allows them to blend into their surroundings; the adults have few if any predators. Reproduction is viviparious with biennial reproductive cycles and ten to twelve-month gestation periods. Each female is polyandrous, mating with several males (to avoid physical abuse) and they have the ability to store sperm for several months for later use. They are philopatric with each female returning to the same shallow nursery grounds year-after-year to give birth to four to seventeen live miniature adults that are 50 cm (20 inches) to 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. The juveniles remain in these locations for several years before venturing to deeper waters, however, approximately 50% of the juveniles do not survive their first year. They have life spans of thirty years.
The Lemon Shark is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans with the exception that in the Pacific they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.
The Lemon Shark is most likely confused with the Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum (lower lobe of caudal fin weakly developed).
From a conservation perspective the Lemon Shark is currently consider as NEAR THREATENED. They take a long time to reach sexual maturity (twelve to eighteen years) and have a low fecundity. The Lemon Shark is targeted in Mexico by both commercial and recreational fishermen and subject to overfishing. Their shallow water nursery grounds have also been strongly adversely affected by human development. They are caught with longlines and as a by-catch in pelagic and gillnet fisheries. Their meat is normally dried, salted or smoked and consumed on a limited basis; their fins are prized and exported to Asia for use in shark fin soup; their skin is used for leather. They are commonly used by the aquarium trade and can be found in large public aquariums. They are of scientific interest due to their ability to learn from social interactions. The Lemon Shark is not considered to be a large treat to humans with no documented deaths to date.