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LEMON
SHARK
Negaprion brevirostris
GENERAL
DESCRIPTION
The lemon shark's back is deep
yellow (giving it its name); its belly is off-white. It is used
extensively in
scientific research since it does well in captivity. It is requiem
shark that
is fairly common along the southeast coast of the USA.
TEETH
The triangular teeth are slightly
curved.
These long, thin,
sharp teeth
are designed to catch slippery fish, the mainstay of the lemon shark's
diet.
A young lemon shark loses an entire set of teeth, one at a time, every
7-8
days. The teeth are located in rows, which rotate into use as needed.
The first
two rows are used in obtaining prey; the other rows rotate into place,
as they
are needed. As teeth are lost, broken, or worn down, they are replaced
by new
teeth that rotate into place.
SIZE
Lemon sharks average 8-10 feet
(2.45-3.1 m) long. The largest recorded catch was 12 feet long.
DIET
AND FEEDING
HABITS
It eats mostly fish (including
other sharks), but will also eats mollusks and crustaceans.
Lemon Shark Tooth
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LEMON SHARK ATTACKS
Lemon sharks have been known
to
attack people.
HABITAT
It lives near the surface and
at
moderate depths, frequenting bays, docks, and river mouths.
DISTRIBUTION
The lemon shark is found in
the
Pacific off Latin and South America, in the Atlantic off the coasts of
South
America and West Africa, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
REPRODUCTION
Litters
consist of about 36
young, which are about 18 inches long at birth.
LEMON
SHARK
CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom
Animalia (animals)
Phylum
Chordata
SubPhylum
Vertebrata
(vertebrates)
Class
Chondrichthyes
(cartilaginous fish)
Subclass
Elasmobranchii
(sharks and rays)
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family
Carcharhinidae
Genus
Negaprion
Species
brevirostris
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