This hunter isn't the swiftest shark in the sea, but it is one of the ocean's most successful predators. The lemon shark slowly patrols warm coastal waters and uses a wide array of fine-tuned senses to track down prey, even those that have buried themselves in the sandy seabed. After it finds a potential meal, this slow swimming shark closes in and uses its mouthful of sharp, stabbing teeth to finish the job.
Nice Teeth: Rows of the shark's thin but sharp teeth easily cut through prey. The lemon shark constantly replaces old or broken teeth, losing up to 30,000 teeth throughout its lifetime.
What Smells: The lemon shark has an extraordinary sense of smell. This hunter can catch the scent of blood in the water from up to 1,500 feet away-that's more than a quarter of a mile!
ESS-Extra Sensory Shark[]
The lemon shark searches for prey that might be buried in the bottom.
Besides an acute sense of smell, the lemon shark has other keen senses that help it track down prey. Like most sharks, this creature has pores in its snout filled with a jelly-like substance that picks up electric impulses made by an animal's nervous system. This helps the shark locate stingrays and other prey that are buried in the sand on the ocean floor. Plus, the lemon shark has special organs on it sides that detect the vibrations made by injured animals- and it can feel these vibrations from up to one-half mile away!
Come Together: This shark is usually a solitary hunter, but sometimes will gather with others of its species. Young lemon sharks stay together for safety, and adults occasionally work together to herd large schools of fish into shallow water.
Mini-Me: A female lemon shark gives birth to as many as 19 "pups" at a time. Each young shark looks just like an adult (only smaller), and is a lethal hunter from the moment it hits the water.
Growing Pains[]
- A group of young lemon sharks swim together; they rarely venture outside of the shallow lagoon they call home so they'll stay safe from predators.
- As the sharks grow, they fine-tune their hunting skills on small fish. They also become more independent and explore areas beyond the lagoon.
- One of the young lemon sharks realizes too late the dangers of the open water, as it's devoured by an adult member of its own species.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- The card's front illustration is also used in the Wildlife Explorer series, for the Lemon Shark's profile. The image is the same, except flipped.
- The illustrations for "Growing Pains" are also shared with the Wildlife Explorer series. Titled "Hunter and Hunted", and has an extra third image of the two sharks, a bit bigger, swimming together.
- There are two likely references via the small headings on the back of the card:
- Firstly, there is Mini-Me, the name of the mini version of Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise.
- There is also the title Come Together, which is a 1969 The Beatles song.