Negaprion Temporal range: 15–0 Ma Miocene to Present |
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Lemon shark (N. brevirostris) | |
Sicklefin lemon shark (N. acutidens) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
Superorder: | Selachimorpha |
Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
Family: | Carcharhinidae |
Genus: |
Negaprion Whitley, 1940 |
Type species | |
Aprionodon acutidens queenslandicus Whitley, 1939 |
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Synonyms | |
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Negaprion is a genus of requiem sharks in the family Carcharhinidae, containing the two extant species of lemon sharks: the lemon shark (N. brevirostris) of the Americas, and the sicklefin lemon shark (N. acutidens) of the Indo-Pacific. Both species are large, slow-moving, bulky sharks inhabiting shallow coastal waters, and can be identified by their short, blunt snouts, two dorsal fins of nearly equal size, and uniform yellowish brown or gray coloration.
† = extinct