Lemon Sharks, Negaprion brevirostris

Lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) are so named because of the lemony-yellow sheen of their skin. At two of our dive locations, lemon sharks were underfoot in schools of up to eight individuals or more, each shark between six and eight feet in length. Lemon sharks tend to approach in groups, and often cut off the larger tiger sharks as they followed scent trails leading to bait. This interaction nearly always resulted in the tiger shark(s) turning away, but the tigers reacted strongly more than once, actively chasing the lemons away.

It's amazing that one can become so accustomed to the presence of a bunch of large, toothy sharks. At sites like tiger beach, lemon sharks were almost ... pests! I only say this because they were nearly always underfoot. It's a good thing I consider lemon sharks to be beautiful; their constant presence gave us many photographic opportunities.