Fun fact: lemon sharks like to make friends. These social and curious creatures, who enjoy the company of other sharks and divers alike, are known for their yellowish skin tone and stocky build. You'll most likely spot them in warm, shallow waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, near coral reefs, mangrove forests and enclosed bays. Ready for more intriguing insights into these fabulous creatures? Read on for our top facts about lemon sharks...
Naming
Let's kick off our facts about lemon sharks with an obvious one - why they're called lemon sharks. The answer is simple: lemon sharks, negaprion brevirostris, get their common name from their yellowish-brown skin tone.
Appearance
With their flattened heads, short snouts and sunny complexion lemon sharks have a distinctive look that makes them stand out among other sharks. These mangrove-dwelling delights can be big. Most lemon sharks grow to around ten feet and the biggest one ever recorded was 12.1ft. And all this length comes with some weight, well a lot of weight, as lemon sharks can weigh up to 551lbs.
Life Span
Lemon sharks, like many of their fellow shark species, live on average 30 years.
Habitat
Lemon sharks enjoy the tropical and subtropical lifestyle, inhabiting the shallow waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. You'll often spot them close to coral reefs and mangroves, perfect places for them to blend in, hide from predators and protect their young. While they do prefer shallow waters, some lemon sharks have been found in waters as deep as 90m, but as social creatures they prefer to stick with their group.
Eating Styles
Not only do the coral reefs and mangrove forest provide shelter for the lemon sharks but they provide a constant buffet. Lemon sharks aren't picky eaters. They'll munch on a variety of creatures including fish, rays, crustaceans and even other sharks and are known for being effective foraging predators.
Hunting
The lemon shark's yellowish skin blends perfectly with the sandy areas along the shore, making it almost invisible while it hunts for food. Combined with its flat head and short snout, this camouflage helps the lemon shark become a stealthy predator while going after bony fish, crustaceans and stingrays.
Are Lemon Sharks Social?
One of our favourite facts about lemon sharks is that they're the social butterflies of the shark world. Like hammerhead sharks, they'll often form large groups, especially when on the hunt for food. They've even been known to make noises like grunts, clicks, and whistles. But they're also social with divers, so don't be surprised if they come for a closer look when you're exploring their world.
Motherly Bond
Like wobbegong sharks, lemon sharks are viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young, not eggs. After developing inside the mother for up to 12 months, the pups are born in shallow nurseries, where they can safely grow. A mother lemon shark might have as many as 17 pups at once, and these young sharks stay in the nurseries for several years, feeding on the rich nutrients in nearby mangroves and avoiding larger predators until they're big enough to venture out on their own.
Impact on Marine Ecosystems
Our final fact about lemon sharks is an important one: they play a vital role when it comes to keeping the marine ecosystem in balance. As we mentioned, they're opportunists and non-fussy easters meaning that they'll never wipe out one species but instead control the populations of the species they eat, which helps maintain the health of the food web. Their presence also boosts biodiversity, providing habitat and food for other marine creatures.
