After I had become a diver myself, I started seeing more and more of these extraordinary fish. On a research dive in Fiji, I encountered dozens of them at 40m as I was examining an underwater sewage discharge.
A little disoriented and mildly narced I remember thinking to myself 'Where the heck are their sharks? Two remoras kept circling me and I noticed that somewhat ironically, one of the remoras had another, much smaller one, attached to it. The big guys kept coming in close as if they were going to attach to me. I was more interested in photographing them than being a host. They soon left me alone and headed towards my dive buddy, Nicole.
Nicole started flailing at them with hands and fins to keep them away. When we got back to the dive boat I asked Nicole why she was so excited about a pair of remoras.
A series of scratch marks were oozing blood. This piqued my interest as I mentally filed away the information. The remoras in question were Echeneis naucrates , also called shark suckers. Humans have apparently known about remoras for a long time. Remora, in Latin means delay, a reference to their supposed ability to slow down ships. The generic name Echeneis is derived from the Greek echein 'to hold' and naus 'ship' and Linnaeus was obviously aware of these old stories when he named the genus in He published a series of books in and in one of these he recounts, in considerable, if somewhat fanciful detail, the use of remora in the West Indies:.
As soon as the fisherman sees any fish swimming near the barque, he gives the signal for attack and lets go the little cord. Like a dog freed from its leash, the fish descends on its prey and turning its head throws its skin pouch over the neck of the victim, if it is a large fish. Additional reports detail how large fish and animals such as manatees are also caught using remora.
Fisher folk in the Indian Ocean have also been using remoras to catch turtles for centuries. This was brought to Western attention as early as In a French translation of a book he wrote, the following quote appears obviously translated into English :. They take alive a fish called Remora, and fixing two cords, one to its head and one to its tail, they then throw it into the depths of the sea in the region where they judge there ought to be turtles, and when they perceive that the animal has attached itself to a turtle, which it soon does, they draw into them the Remora and with it the turtle.
Sometimes these relationships grow between the most unlikely of pairs! In the animal world, if the relationship benefits both species it is known as a symbiotic relationship.
One example of symbiosis is the relationship between sharks and remora fish. The remora is a small fish that usually measures between one and three feet long. Their front dorsal fins evolved over time into an organ that sits like a suction cup on the top of their heads. Pilot fish swim alongside sharks but do not attach themselves.
They also feed on the parasites growing on the body of the shark helping them in having clear skin. As the fishes are benefitted from the attachment and the sharks are neither benefited nor are at a loss such type of association is known as commensalism. The remora fish has convinced sharks not to do this by showing the shark how beneficial they are.
Although some might say the shark gets no benefit from the remora fish, they do. They keep the shark clean by eating off any parasites so sharks began to welcome these fish. Can you eat remora fish? Remora fish are referred to as suckerfish because they suction cup themselves onto a much larger host.
If you do manage to catch a remora fish, you should know that they are safe to consume, although they do not provide much meat and make for much better bait. Remoras are not dangerous to their hosts. They simply attach to the larger animal and hitch a ride. Researchers from Georgia Tech are taking a closer look at the top of remoras' heads, at the structure and tissue properties of the area that adheres to the host, and hope to make a bio-inspired adhesive with the same qualities.
Along with detailed studies of remora species and their abilities, the researchers are using 3D printing to prototype versions of the remora's specialized dorsal fin.
According to the researchers, finding out the trick to this fish's reversible adhesion could be a benefit for many industries.
It "could be used to create pain- and residue-free bandages, attach sensors to objects in aquatic or military reconnaissance environments, replace surgical clamps and help robots climb. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content.
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