Slow, pale-yellow patrollers. Bahamas baited dives put them metres from divers — Indo-Pacific encounters rare.
Lemon sharks get their name from a yellowish skin tone that's distinct against the typical grey-blue of other reef sharks. Two species: the Atlantic lemon (Negaprion brevirostris) made famous by Tiger Beach baited dives, and the sicklefin lemon (N. acutidens) of the Indo-Pacific.
They're social — adults gather in loose groups around reef channels and use the same resting bays repeatedly. The Atlantic species at Bimini and Tiger Beach (Bahamas) is the world's best lemon shark experience; sicklefins occasionally appear at Maldives outer atolls and French Polynesia.
They're one of the most-studied sharks on Earth — over 50 years of tagging data — and contribute disproportionately to shark biology research. Listed Vulnerable; nursery habitats are heavily protected in many ranges.
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