No photo available
Shark sucker
Remora remora
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Shark sucker
- Scientific
- Remora remora
- Dhivehi
- Attamas
- Family
- Echeneidae (remoras)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 86 cm (total length); commonly 40 cm; max. published weight 1.1 kg (FishBase); MRS 1997 gives max. 62 cm
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 0 to 200 m
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2012
Description
A stout, uniformly dark brown to blackish remora with a large sucking disc on top of the head, formed from a modified dorsal fin. It hitches rides on sharks, marlins, turtles and ships and feeds on scraps and parasites.
In the Maldives
Dhivehi name attamas (MRS 1997).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Remora-remora.html
- fao.org /4/AD471E/AD471E00.htm
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Remora_remora.jpg
Dhivehi name source: M.R.S. (1997) Fishes of the Maldives (FAO/BOBP MAG/21) gives 'Attamas' (Latin form).