Fish
Remora
Echeneis naucrates
A slim, striped hitchhiker that rides sharks, rays and turtles using the sucking disc on top of its head.
Also known as live sharksucker, sharksucker, slender suckerfish, suckerfish
- Typical size
- Commonly 30-70 cm, up to about 1 m
- Habitat
- Open water, attached to large hosts
- Depth
- Surface to about 50 m
The live sharksucker, or remora, is a long, slender fish with a flat, oval sucking disc on the top of its head, formed from a modified dorsal fin. It is grey to brownish with a dark horizontal stripe edged in white running the length of the body.
Throughout South African waters it attaches to sharks, rays, turtles, large fish and even boat hulls, feeding on scraps, parasites and small prey stirred up by its host. It readily detaches to swim freely and will sometimes investigate divers, occasionally trying to attach to a wetsuit or fin. It is harmless.