Genus Remora


Summary:

Remoras use their cephalic sucking disc to attach themselves to a range of marine hosts, including sharks, rays, large bony fishes, marine turtles, whales and dolphins.
Individuals attach to the body, in the mouth or gill cavity. They are rarely free-swimming are usually captured with their host.

Identifying features: body moderately elongate, depth 5-8 times in standard length (SL); cephlic sucking disc large with 15-28 lamellae; pectoral fins rounded; pelvic fins broadly attached to the abdomen; anal-fin short-based with 18-28 fin rays; caudal fin forked in juveniles, emarginate to truncate in adults; colour uniform - not striped.

All four species in this genus are widely distributed and have been recorded in Australia, mostly in warmer waters.

Author: Dianne J. Bray

Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Remora in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/genus/1296

References


Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Echeneidae. pp. 2652-2654 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 2069-2790 pp.

Gomon, M.F. 2008. Family Echeneidae. In: Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.