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Echeneis naucrates
This opportunistic fish, also called Live Sharksucker, has a suction mechanism on its head (that looks like the underside of a rubber shoe) which it uses to attach itself to larger marine animals, mainly sharks, sea turtles, rays, dolphins and whales. It even hitch-hikes under ships and sometimes on divers' legs! Remora are poor swimmers, and they lack swim bladders (used by other fish to maneuver in the water comfortably). They grow to a length of 1m. They feed on scraps of food left uneaten by its host, and also on parasites found on the latter. The host animal does not really benefit from this commensalistic relationship, but it does not get harmed either.
This commensal fish occurs in all tropical waters of the world. They are often seen on coral reefs, at depths of 0 to 50m.
This full-grown remora approached my dive buddy and me while we were doing our safety stop. It was apparently trying to attach to one of us!
4 Comments
Four, beautiful photos....
Fantastic video!
Thanks, Gerardo! Adding the video now...
Very cool Blogie :):)