lemon shark

Open encyclopedia reference

The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) is a species of requiem shark from the family Carcharhinidae, known for its yellowish skin, which inspires its common name. The lemon shark is classified as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lemon sharks can grow to 3.4 m (11 ft) in length. They are often found in shallow subtropical waters and are known to inhabit and return to specific nursery sites for breeding. Often feeding at night, these sharks use electroreceptors to find their main source of prey, fish. Lemon sharks enjoy the many benefits of group living, such as enhanced communication, courtship, predatory behavior, and protection. This species gives birth to live young, and the females are polyandrous and have a biennial reproductive cycle. Lemon sharks are not thought to be a large threat to humans; only 10 bites have been recorded, none of which were life-threatening. The lemon shark's lifespan is unknown, but the typical shark is 25 to 30 years old.

Wikipedia contributors, Lemon shark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:54:22.110467+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Negaprion brevirostris (Poey, 1868)

Name authority

(Poey, 1868)

Common name

lemon shark

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Carcharhiniformes

Family

Carcharhinidae

Genus

Negaprion

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumChondrichthyes
7. classElasmobranchii
8. subclassNeoselachii
9. infraclassSelachii
10. superorderGaleomorphi
11. orderCarcharhiniformes
12. familyCarcharhinidae Jordan & Evermann, 1896
13. genusNegaprion Whitley, 1940
14. speciesNegaprion brevirostris (Poey, 1868)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Negaprion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 42 records assigned to Carcharhinidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105800 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:464NF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.