The disc on its head is a fin. It is the first dorsal fin, rebuilt: the spines have flattened and split into a series of movable slats set in an oval pad. The fish grips by pressing the pad against a surface and tilting the slats backward, which drops the pressure underneath, and the harder the host pulls away the tighter the hold becomes. To let go, the remora swims forward.
It rides sharks, rays, turtles, large fish and boats. On a shark or a manta it is not purely a passenger: it takes parasitic copepods off the skin and picks up scraps from the host's meals. It also feeds perfectly well on its own, which is why you meet them swimming free.
They will try a diver too. A remora that has decided your tank or your leg is a host will stay with you for the rest of the dive, and the grip is strong enough to feel and nowhere near strong enough to matter.
At a meter long this is the largest of the family: dark, with a black stripe edged in white running from snout to tail, and unmistakably a fish with a shoe sole glued to its head.
The genus. Echeneis Linnaeus 1758 - echein (to hold) + naus (ship). ETYFish
The species. Echeneis naucrates Linnaeus 1758 - naus (ship) + krates (master or guide). ETYFish
- oval ridged disc on top of the head, which is a modified dorsal fin
- dark body with a black stripe edged in white from snout to tail
- lower jaw projecting beyond the upper
- usually attached to something larger, or swimming just off it
- up to 1 m
