Teleostei (teleosts) >
Carangiformes (Jacks) >
Echeneidae (Remoras)
Etymology: Remora: Latin, remora = delay, hindrance (1567) (Ref. 45335); remora: remora meaning delay or hindrance; these fish were once thought to delay a ship's progress when they attached to the hull (Ref. 4389).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 86942). Subtropical; 60°N - 36°S, 180°W - 180°E
Cosmopolitan in warm waters.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 86.4 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26340); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26999); max. published weight: 1.1 kg (Ref. 40637)
Usually associated with sharks but also attaches itself to other large fishes, sea turtles and even ships (Ref. 2850, 58302); found in gill chambers, fins and body surface (Ref. 5951). Sometimes free-swimming (Ref. 2850). Younger individual is more active as parasite pickers (Ref. 26938). Feeds on parasitic copepods (Ref. 35388).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lachner, E.A. and A. Post, 1990. Echeneidae. p. 725-728. In J. C. Quéro, J. C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 10791)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
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