DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Sicklefin lemon shark
Negaprion acutidens
- Usual depth1–4 m
- Water temperature23–27 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, March, and December
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Diego Delso , some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The sicklefin lemon shark or sharptooth lemon shark is a species of requiem shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, widely distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. It is closely related to the better-known lemon shark (N. brevirostris) of the Americas; the two species are almost identical in appearance, both being stout-bodied sharks with broad heads, two dorsal fins of nearly equal size, and a plain yellow-tinged coloration. As its common name suggests, the sicklefin lemon shark differs from its American counterpart in having more falcate (sickle-shaped) fins. This large species grows up to 3.8 m (12 ft) long. It generally inhabits water less than 92 m (302 ft) deep in a variety of habitats, from mangrove estuaries to coral reefs.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Sicklefin lemon shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2,939 records
- February: 2,335 records
- March: 2,876 records
- April: 2,866 records
- May: 2,864 records
- June: 2,416 records
- July: 2,332 records
- August: 2,161 records
- September: 2,076 records
- October: 1,847 records
- November: 2,040 records
- December: 3,427 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–4 m · Deepest record: 86 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–27 °C
Photos
(c) Romain Boisseau, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) Aparna Shyam, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Pauline Walsh Jacobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jay Brasher, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nils, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Sicklefin lemon shark, Lemon Shark, Lemon Shark, Broadfin shark, Sicklefin lemon shark, Sharp-toothed Shark, Sharptooth Lemon Shark, Sharptooth Shark, sicklefin lemon shark
Names in 6 more languages
- German
- Indopazifischer Zitronenhai, Sichelflossen-Zitronenhai
- Spanish
- Tiburón limón del Indo-pacífico, Tiburón Segador
- French
- Requin citron, Requin citron faucille, Requin grandes ailes, Requin limon faucille, Requin limon faucille
- Japanese
- Remonzame, レモンザメ
- Thai
- ปลาฉลามครีบโค้ง
- Simplified Chinese
- 尖齒檸檬鯊, 檸檬鯊, 犁鰭檸檬鮫
Other scientific names: Apeionodon acutidens, Aprionodon acutidens, Carcharias acutidens, Carcharias forskalii, Carcharias munzingeri, Eulamia odontaspis, Hemigaleops fosteri, Mystidens innominatus, Negaprion odontaspis, Negaprion queenslandicus, Odontaspis madagascariensis
Similar species
Silvertip sharkCarcharhinus albimarginatus
Grey reef sharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Pigeye sharkCarcharhinus amboinensis
Bronze whalerCarcharhinus brachyurus
Silky sharkCarcharhinus falciformis
creek whalerCarcharhinus fitzroyensis
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 47,445 open-data records from 1837 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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