These Fish Suck! The oceans of the world are home to a myriad of symbiotic relationships. Some of these have been known to naturalists for hundreds of years. Such is the case with the echeneids and elasmobranchs. The family echeneidae is known by a variety of common names, including suckerfishes, discfishes, remoras, suckers, shipholders, sharksuckers and lousefish. What makes these fishes so unique is that they have a specialized organ on the top of their heads that they use to adhere to a larger host. This form of symbiosis is known as phoresis - that is, where one animal is carried by another. In this CoralRealm article, we will look at the suckerfishes or remoras and the relationship they have with other marine organisms.
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