I call this a “guide” because I’m going to include a lot of lemon shark information in one place to refer to with the mermaid au in mind, since Yorki is a lemon shark.
There are more posts with shark Yorki, including his ref I guess? Though I’d consider it outdated now. I’ll remake it after I make the other rumbars’.
I’ll yap about sharks in a bit, this is just for if anyone might want to draw or know more about how Yorki looks as a lemon shark. I’m not great at organizing my thoughts so bear with me if I’m all over the place with information.
- First thing I want to say, pay close attention to the fins. Their placement, their shape, their size. Lemon sharks notably have both dorsals close to the same size, which makes them unique compared to other species.
- Also, I’ve seen a lot of shark merpeople designs where the first dorsal is placed directly onto the back of the human torso, above the pectorals. Which isn’t like, bad, but for my au, the body is accurate to a lemon’s regular proportions except for the claspers and gills. The claspers (the reproductive organs), as mentioned in the picture, would just look better and make more sense located higher than normal. But I’m not drawing claspers so it doesn’t really do anything ? But they are apart of a male shark and help visually distinguish between males and females, just thought I should add that.
- Gill slits are located higher too, right where the hips and shark head merge. They would usually be right in front of the pectoral fins, this is just a design choice. It admittedly looks a little strange to me but I do like it. And remember that most sharks have five gill slits on each side of the body, they don’t have any less than that. Some species can have up to seven, but it’s never less than five.
- Regarding the Sicklefin lemons, they are native to the Indo-Pacific region. Standard lemons are native to the western Atlantic. So Yorki resides in the west near the Americas (spanning the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, down to Brazil). Both can grow to be about 10-11 ft in size (3.5 meters). And again, as mentioned, their fin shapes are one of the biggest differences between them. Standard lemons have more broad, triangular fins; Sicklefins have a noticeable curve to theirs.
- The pupils are also the same as a lemon’s, it looks similar to how Yorki’s eyes already are so it may not be very noticeable, but he does have the vertical pupils too.
I think that’s everything to note about Yorki’s appearance, now to talk about lemon sharks in general. These things can be applied to Yorki too, like behavior and such just to give an idea.
Lemon sharks belong to the family Carcharhinidae, which are known as “requiem sharks.” This family features about sixty species, including other well-known sharks, both coastal and pelagic (tigers, bulls, reefs, sandbars, blues, spinners, etc). They’re migratory and viviparous, meaning they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs. And about half of all shark attacks are from members of this family, but mainly because bulls and tigers are included. Those sharks alone are already in the top three, though smaller sharks like blacktip reefs are also responsible for a lot of non-fatal bites too (they’re very cute though, blacktip reef sharks are my favorites).
Lemons eat a large variety of things, such as crustaceans, mollusks, smaller sharks, rays, seabirds, and fish (especially slow-moving species like catfish). They’re nocturnal hunters who opt for prey that’re easy to catch. They rely heavily on their sense of smell and electroreception to detect movement in dark, murky waters. They’re also known to corner schooling fish against the surface or seafloor in shallow waters, and like I mentioned in an earlier post, they’re brutal with prey. Many sharks bite off pieces of what they catch, but lemons will grab something whole and violently thrash their heads in order to tear it apart.
They are one of the most well-researched shark species because they are so social and popular to dive with. They’re very unique, having been observed with hierarchies and social norms whenever they form gatherings (a group of sharks is called a “shiver”). Which, they LOVE to gather. It’s actually really sweet, they get close to others and show favoritism, even occasionally get jealous. They’re usually what people are referring to when they describe sharks as being “water puppies,” they’re known to be affectionate even with humans. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous, they aren’t exempt from shark attacks. It’s rare and usually a defensive reaction, they’re very calm, but like… 200-300 lbs (90-180 kg) of a strong predator shouldn’t be taken lightly in any case.
Named after their distinct coloration, lemon sharks are born a very yellow color, but as they mature, they darken. They still retain a yellowish tint, though adults are usually an olive-brownish. Their underbellies are lighter, often whitish or a light yellow. Both colors aid in camouflage along the sandy nearshore areas where they often reside since they rarely venture out to deep waters.
And speaking of living in mostly coastal waters, that includes coral reefs, mangrove forests, and river mouths. They can tolerate freshwater or low-salinity areas for brief periods of time, but they don’t stay or travel far upstream. They’re not like bull sharks who have the ability to transition between the two for extended durations.
Buuut, they can do something known as “buccual pumping,” something not all sharks can do. Essentially they can force water over their gills by opening and closing their mouths, allowing them to rest on the seafloor. They switch between doing this and ram ventilation when they’re actively swimming. And ram ventilation is the forward-motion breathing where a shark swims continuously. Species like Great whites or makos rely only on ram ventilation, they can’t stay stationary. Lemons can do both. And because of this, they spend most of the day resting.
And finally, mating. Lemon shark mating behavior includes biting to secure their position since they lack hands or arms; it’s the male’s way of holding on, and these are referred to as “love bites.” Female sharks are built for this rough behavior, their skin is significantly thicker than males’ because of this. They find multiple partners each mating season for genetic diversity, meaning a single litter of pups can have multiple fathers.
The gestation period is about 12 months, and they return to the same nursery grounds in which they were born. This is called “natal philopatry.” Pups stay in these protected, shallows waters where they are also hunted by other, older lemon sharks. So about half of them make it, at least as shown in major nurseries. And that’s a litter of (typically) 4 to 18 pups.
So, with this in mind, Yorki could be seen as dangerous and very capable, but mainly friendly and easy to get along with. His curiosity gets the best of him, he’s very interested in people. And because of this, he collects a lot of what he finds humans throw into the ocean. Sometimes things of value, sometimes actual trash. There’s really no difference to him though, he just likes all of it, especially if he can get his hands on human food. Brook disagrees with this. He 1, sees it as a hoarding problem, and 2, thinks human food is awful despite refusing to try it. It’s for Yorki’s sake, not that Yorki ever really listens to those concerns. He constantly swims too close to boats and tests how close he can get. Lemons are inherently curious, it’s his nature.
But he also likes being around the crew obviously, a lemon shark in the company of a variety of fish. So resting and relaxing with music is also a fun pastime.
The rumbars don’t really wear clothes, their fashion is mostly the things they put together themselves. Maybe making something using torn nets that drift in the water, whatever they can find. On occasion, Yorki brings back human clothing for them that he scavenges in old sunken ships. It isn’t needed, in fact it creates drag in the water, but it’s something fun they do to express themselves. Even Brook has come around to this, though he usually wears salps and pearls like jewelry, sea lilies in his hair, and uses alcyonacea or crinoids like fans to dance with. I’ve also drawn him with a jellyfish hat, he wears that sometimes too. Just not a venomous jelly. I think a giant phantom jellyfish would make a really pretty hat, they’re just rare and live in the deep-sea, so..
Anyways, since they live in the ocean, they of course eat animals raw. Yorki doesn’t really have a taste for it anymore after trying human food. You just can’t flavor things in water the way you can on land. Still, he has Brook try and recreate stuff anyway.
Humans are generally receptive towards the mermaids, at least the people who live along the coast are. Sailors, fishermen, seasiders, they’re more so used to them and get along. It’s the people inland who Brook is mostly worried about. Especially when Laboon is involved.
Yorki likes sharing with anyone though, he eventually starts accompanying locals during their fishing or even saves people from drowning. Just gets along with anyone who likes company, really, and develops a taste for human alcohol. The other rumbars happily perform music close to shore so humans can listen too. As long as Yorki isn’t diving headfirst into a situation that could get him hurt, Brook doesn’t mind. He’s just afraid of losing him.
This is all I’ll add right now, there’s more but that will come later as the other rumbars are added. I hope this is useful or interesting to read through!