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Spearfish Remora
Remora brachyptera
The spearfish remora (Remora brachyptera) is a species of remora with a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas. Remoras attach themselves to other fish with a sucker on the head and this fish is almost exclusively found living on billfishes or swordfishes, and sometimes on sharks.
From the article Spearfish remora on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
This species can reach 50 cm (20 in) in total length, though most do not exceed 25 cm (10 in). It is an elongated cylindrical fish, usually whitish or pale blue in life, but tan or dusky-brown when dead. The rather flattened head has an oblong disc or sucker with 14 to 17 transverse plates with which it clings to its host. The dorsal and anal fins are long and set far back on the body. The dorsal fin has between 27 and 34 soft rays, the pectoral fin has 23 to 27 rays and the anal fin 25 to 34 rays. The caudal fin has a straight edge. The sucker reaches no further than the pectoral fins, and the outer two-thirds of the pectoral rays are flexible. There are up to 21 gill rakers in the first branchial arch.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Remora brachyptera in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 111585.