Live sharksucker
Echeneis naucrates
Special Features
What makes the live sharksucker so special is its ability to secure a "free" ride. With the help of its sucker disc, it attaches to fast-swimming hosts and benefits from protection and easy leftover food. This relationship is usually commensal – beneficial for the remora, but mostly neutral for the host fish.
Besides attaching to hosts, the remora can also swim independently and is often observed freely in coastal and reef areas.
It primarily feeds on parasites and dead skin particles of its host but also eats small fish and plankton when it swims freely. The sucker disc is so specialized that it adheres strongly even at high speeds but can quickly detach when needed.
Appearance
The live sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates), also known as the common remora, is a slender, elongated fish that instantly catches the eye due to its distinctive "sucker disc" on its head. This is a modified part of the dorsal fin and allows the remora to suction firmly onto larger marine animals like sharks, sea turtles, or even boats. Its body is usually dark gray to black on the upper side, while the underside is lighter, silvery in color. Often, light spots or stripes can be seen along the sides. Adult individuals can grow up to about 70 cm long.
Natural Enemies
Sea birds
Dangerous/Toxic
The live sharksucker is neither dangerous nor toxic.
Pro Tips
The live sharksucker often swims close to sharks, rays, or turtles, attaching itself with its sucker disc. Sometimes it even follows divers! Its distinctive black longitudinal stripes and the round sucker disc on its head make it easily recognizable.
