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Animal profile

Lemon Shark

Negaprion brevirostris

ChondrichthyesShallow subtropical coasts, mangrove lagoons, seagrass flats and coral reefsVulnerable

Field profile

The lemon shark is a stocky yellowish-brown coastal shark with two nearly equal dorsal fins, reaching about three metres. It is one of the best-studied sharks in the world, thanks to decades of work at Bimini in the Bahamas. Juveniles spend years in mangrove nurseries before moving offshore.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-12-05

Lemon Shark

Lemon sharks return to their birthplace to give birth

Genetic work at Bimini traced adult female lemon sharks back to the mangrove lagoon where they themselves were born. They return to that same nursery to pup roughly fifteen years later, a homing behaviour better known from salmon and sea turtles.

Read with evidence →

Lemon Shark | Daily Animal Facts