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Boletín de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras - INVEMAR

Print version ISSN 0122-9761

Bol. Invest. Mar. Cost. vol.52 no.1 Santa Marta Jan./June 2023  Epub Oct 23, 2023

https://doi.org/10.25268/bimc.invemar.2023.52.1.1204 

Notes

Evidence of lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey) (Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) at Salamanca Gulf, Colombian Caribbean

Evidencia del tiburón limón, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey)(Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) en el golfo de Salamanca, Caribe colombiano

Oscar Forero-Bastidas1 
http://orcid.org/ 0000-0001-5197-4479

Angie Vásquez-Chaparro2 
http://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-1359-9123

Luis Garzón-Rodriguez3 
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-9961

Daniel Ortiz-Oyola4 
http://orcid.org/ 0000-0003-3580-9056

Luis Nieto-Alvarado5 

José Tavera6 
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4517-9238

Adolfo Sanjuan-Muñoz7 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4786-862X

Carlos Polo-Silva8  * 
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5541-8226

1Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeniería, Programa de Biología Marina, Santa Marta, Colombiaoscari.forerob@utadeo.edu.co

2Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeniería, Programa de Biología Marina, Santa Marta, Colombia. angiel.vasquezc@utadeo.edu.co

3Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeniería, Programa de Biología Marina, Santa Marta, Colombia. luisf.garzonr@utadeo.edu.co

4Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, BCS, México daniels.ortizo@utadeo.edu.co

5Universidad del Magdalena, Edificio Docente C.3D, Santa Marta, Colombia. lenietoa@gmail.com

6Departamento de Biología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. jose.tavera@correounivalle.edu.co

7Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Ingeniería, Programa de Biología Marina, Santa Marta, Colombia. adolfo.sanjuan@utadeo.edu.co

8Sharky Management & Consulting, Oldsmar FL, EE. UU. carlosj.polos@utadeo.edu.co


ABSTRACT

The lemon shark is a confirmed species on the continental shelf of the Colombian Caribbean; however, it has only been recorded once in Neguanje bay, department of Magdalena. In this short communication, the first record of Negaprion brevirostris for the Golfo de Salamanca is presented, from a specimen captured at kilometer 40 of the Ciénaga-Barranquilla highway. The individual was an immature male 144 cm in total length.

KEYWORDS: Colombian Caribbean; diversity of marine fish; golfo de Salamanca; Negaprion brevirostris

RESUMEN

El tiburón limón es una especie confirmada en la plataforma continental del Caribe colombiano; sin embargo, solo se ha registrado en una ocasión en la bahía de Neguanje, departamento del Magdalena. Se presenta la primera evidencia de Negaprion brevirostris (Carcharhinidae) en el golfo de Salamanca, a partir de un espécimen capturado con red de enmalle de monofilamento, por pescadores artesanales del área a la altura del kilómetro 40 de la vía Ciénaga-Barranquilla. El individuo era un macho inmaduro de 144 cm de longitud total.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Caribe colombiano; diversidad de peces marinos; golfo de Salamanca; Negaprion brevirostris

The lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris (Poey) is a coastal species with a tropical distribution in the eastern Pacific and eastern and western Atlantic oceans, including the wider Caribbean. It prefers warm, shallow waters with sandy substrates surrounded by mangroves; however, it has been found to inhabit coral formations, saline creeks, bays, river mouths and is occasionally found in the open ocean (Compagno, 1984; Morrissey and Gruber, 1993; Ruiz-Abierno et al., 2020). It can remain solitary or form aggregations of up to 20 individuals with some agglomeration by size or sex (Compagno, 1984). This species is characterized by a short and rounded face, and the preoral length is less than the width of the mouth. Body coloration is grayish blue, brown or pale yellow above and yellowish or white below, fins are subtly falcate, the first dorsal fin is similar in size to the second dorsal fin and originates above or posterior to the inner corner of the pectoral fin, teeth are narrow and with smooth cusps on both jaws (Compagno, 1984; Cervigón et al., 1993). Negaprion brevirostris is a little-known species in the Colombian Caribbean; possibly the first record was made by Dahl (1964, 1971) at the mouth of the Sinú river. Other reports of this species confirm its presence in San Andrés and Providencia (Ballesteros, 2007) and the islands of Rosario and San Bernardo, Tolú and Coveñas (Rey and Acero, 2002; Navia and Mejía-Falla, 2004).

The Gulf of Salamanca is one of the most productive and important areas for artisanal fishing in the Colombian Caribbean, located between the coordinates 11° 00’-15’ N and 74° 15’-50’ W (García et al., 2013). The climatic periods in the Magdalena region are governed by the north-south displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which defines the main dry season (December to April) and minor dry season (July to August), dominated by the intensity of the northeast trade winds, causing upwelling processes. In the main rainy condition (September to November) and minor rainy season (May to June), continental water inflows from the Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta and surrounding rivers increase (Franco, 2005; García et al., 2013).

In May 2021, a specimen of N. brevirostris was captured near the municipality of Pueblo Viejo. This record confirms the presence of this species on the continental shelf of the department of Magdalena, specifically in the Gulf of Salamanca. In 1986 a juvenile was captured in the mangrove area of Neguanje Bay (Acero, unpublished data); however, until this new report, there was no certainty of the presence of this species in the area. The specimen was caught by an artisanal fishing boat at kilometer 40 of the Ciénaga-Barranquilla road at 150 m from the coast at coordinates 11° 00’ 12.4’’ N and 74° 27’ 90.9’’ W (Figure 1). The fishing gear used, called “manta”, consisted of a 100 m long monofilament gillnet and/or trammel net with an 8 cm mesh size.

Figure 1 Place of capture of Negaprion brevirostris in the Gulf of Salamanca, Colombian Caribbean. 

The specimen was taken to the market in the village of Tasajera, where it was sexed, identified, and measured (Figure 2). Identification was made using the taxonomic key of Cervigón et al. (1993). The specimen had the following measurements: total length (LT) = 144 cm, precaudal length (LP) = 110 cm, trunk length (Ltr) = 78 cm, interdorsal length (LI) = 26 cm, body height (H) = 25 cm and total weight (PT) = 15.5 kg. The coloration was yellowish-brown on the back and yellowish white on the belly. The average size at maturity of this species has been determined at 230 cm LT (Brown and Gruber, 1988; Tavares et al., 2016), so it is inferred that the individual captured corresponds to a young immature male, no older than five years, this being the known age of maturity for this species (Freitas et al., 2006).

Figure 2 Complete specimen and lower teeth of the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris (Carcharhinidae) 

literature cited

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Franco, A. 2005. Oceanografía de la ensenada de Gaira. El Rodadero, más que un centro turístico en el Caribe colombiano. Fund. Univ. Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Bogotá. 56 p. [ Links ]

Freitas, R., R. Rosa, S. Gruber and B. Wetherbee. 2006. Early growth and juvenile population structure of lemon sharks Negaprion brevirostris in the Atol das Rocas Biological Reserve, off northeast Brazil. J. Fish. Biol., 68: 1319-1332. [ Links ]

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Morrissey, J.F. y S. H. Gruber. 1993. Home range of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey). Copeia 2: 425-434. [ Links ]

Navia, A. F. y P. A. Mejía-Falla. 2004. Guía para la identificación de tiburones y rayas del Programa Nacional de Avistamiento de Tiburones y Rayas. Fundación Squalus, Cali. 38 p. [ Links ]

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Tavares, R., J.P. Rodríguez y M. Morales. 2016. Área de criadero y estructura de tallas de la población del tiburón limón, Negaprion brevirostris (Poey, 1868), en el archipiélago Los Roques, Venezuela. Univ. Sci., 21(1): 33-52. [ Links ]

Received: January 13, 2021; Accepted: May 02, 2022

* Corresponding Author: carlosj.polos@utadeo.edu.co

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