Sickle-fin Lemon Shark

-

 

Everyone say hello to the Sickle-Fin Lemon Shark, also known as the Sharptooth Lemon Shark, or by their scientific name, Negaprion acutidens.
This shark is no threat to humans as it is extremely shy and, if confronted, tends to go off another way. The Sickle-fin Lemon shark can grow up to 14 feet long and resembles its sister species, the Lemon Shark, closely the only significant difference is its pectoral fins with an exaggerated curve. These sharks are yellowish brown and have a very pale underside. These sharks also have a broad wedge-shaped snout. As I mentioned, these sharks never go out of their way to attack humans, even if the bait is presented to them. But they will behave aggressively if they are poked.

Sicklefin Lemon Sharks can give birth to 1 all the way up to 14 pups per litter. Typically born in October, November, December, and January, all depending on locality. 



This shark has about 27 to 33 rows of teeth in each jaw. This shark feeds on a lot, including smaller sharks, stingrays, and benthic bony fishes!

The Sicklefin Lemon Sharks are found in the Indo-pacific regions in the red sea. They are also found in South Africa, including Mauritius,  Seychelles, Madagascar, and to the north of Vietnam and South of Australia. 
These sharks are prevalent in coral reefs, shallow and sandy bottom lagoons, and mangrove swamps. These sharks are highly sluggish and swim slowly across the bottom and even have little rest periods. 


The cause of decline ranges from Humans all the way to Larger Sharks. Sicklefin Lemon Sharks also have several parasites. Since Sicklefin Lemon Sharks are bottom dwellers, this makes it easy for humans to catch and kill them. Humans will kill Sicklefin Lemon Sharks for their meat, which is dried, fried, fresh, salted, frozen, or smoked. Their fins are cut off and used for shark fin soup. Their hides are used for leather, and their liver is used to extract vitamin oil. 


This shark has a massive role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems and regulating the populations of their prey species!
Because of this massive importance, if this species were to go extinct, there would be no balance in the marine ecosystem, and numbers would become higher and too much for that area.  

Many conservation efforts are happening for this shark. Many countries have enacted fishing regulations that will limit the catch of Sicklefin Lemon Sharks. In contrast, others have even established marine protected areas where these sharks can live and then breed safely. Researchers are also studying the biology and behavior of these sharks to better understand them, their needs, and the types of threats they face. By doing this, they can make effective conservation strategies. 
By using geographical tools like surveying, as mentioned above, they can survey these sharks and what is causing them to decline, and they then can make effective protocols that help the shark numbers. Without surveying, we cannot determine the threats of these sharks because we cannot see them. 





This is how you can help!!
1.) Symbolically adopt endangered animals and spread the word about them
2.) Go out and volunteer at places 
3.) Make your voices heard and get sticker rules for the animals of the oceans
4.) Donate if you can! https://www.biminisharklab.com/bronze
5.) Educate people about the importance of the ocean and those that live in the ocean



Research
https://www.sharkwater.com/shark-database/sharks/sharptooth-lemon-shark/
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/negaprion-acutidens/
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Negaprion_acutidens/
https://www.gvi.ie/blog/smb-sicklefin-lemon-sharks-biology-behaviour-and-conservation-status/#:~:text=Conservation%20Efforts%20to%20Protect%20the%20Sicklefin%20Lemon%20Shark&text=Many%20countries%20have%20enacted%20fishing,live%20and%20breed%20in%20safety.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zebra Sharks

-
Image
  This is one of my favorite sharks (I have a lot of favorites).  Say hello to our slow-swimming friend, the Zebra Shark also known by their scientific name  Stegostoma fasciatum . These sharks are non-aggressive and are bottom-dwelling sharks. When these sharks are babies, they have stripes just like a zebra, and when they become adults, these stripes become dots. In fact, their most common name in Australia is the Leopard Shark.  These sharks are night hunters; during the day, they rest on the sea floor or "stand" on their pectoral (side) fins.  These sharks can also wedge their way into tight spaces! You can find Zebra Sharks in coral reefs located in areas like the Western Pacific Ocean. These sharks eat things like  snails and bivalves but will also eat crabs, shrimps, and small bony fishes. The way that their mouths are helps them to grip, crush, and pulverize enclosed shells.  Because of this, they are a massive value to keeping the population d...
Read more

Black-footed Ferret

-
Image
                       Today for my endangered animal blog, I decided to talk about the black-footed ferret. The black-footed ferret is one of North America's most endangered mammals. These ferrets are also called  Mustela nigripes. These ferrets are about 18 to 24 inches and weigh in at about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.   There are approximately around 390 in the world. These ferrets are officially on the endangered list.  "Biologists estimate that there should be 3,000 adult ferrets in the wild to successfully recover this endangered species." These ferrets live in North America, and they were once actually thought to have been extinct until the year of 1981 when in Wyoming, they were rediscovered. They live in grasslands or, more specifically, the Great Northern Plains.  These ferrets are rather important to their ecosystems as their recovery signifies the health of grassland ecosystems, which is how the...
Read more