No photo available
White suckerfish
Remora albescens
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- White suckerfish
- Scientific
- Remora albescens
- Dhivehi
- Hudhu attamas
- Family
- Echeneidae (remoras)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 30 cm (standard length) (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 30 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean, near the surface and in mid-water
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2010
Description
A small, pale grey to white remora with a sucking disc on top of the head. It lives almost exclusively on manta rays, often inside the mouth and gill chambers, feeding on scraps and parasites. It is rarely seen free-swimming.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name hudhu attamas (MRS 1997). MRS notes it is probably fairly common in the Maldives but almost never seen because it lives inside manta rays' mouths.
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Remora-albescens.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center_-_RMNH.ART.164_-_Remora_albes
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Hudhu attamas' (Latin form). FishBase also lists 'Atta-mas' under India (Minicoy/Lakshadweep Mahl dialect); not used.