Family Echeneidae - Remoras
Order : Carangiformes Echeneidae Echeneidae
Class : Teleostei
No. in FishBase : Genera : 3 | Species : 8 Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes
Environment : Fresh : No | Brackish : Yes | Marine : Yes
Division : Marine
Aquarium : none
First Fossil Record :   Tertiary     Ref. Berg, L.S. 1958
Remark : Distribution: Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. Elongate body, with the head flattened and bearing a sucking disc having 10-28 transverse movable lamina (disc said to have evolved from a spinous dorsal fin). Mandible jutted. Scales small and cycloid. Spines absent in dorsal and anal fins. About 18-40 soft rays each in dorsal and anal fins. No swim bladder. Branchiostegal rays 8-11. With the sucking disc, the remora hitches to larger animals such as sharks, bony fishes, turtles or mammals. Some species reportedly show considerable host specificity. They act as cleaners on their hosts and also feed on 'leftovers'. Assumed to be pelagic spawners (RF). About 1 m maximum length (reported for Echeines naucrates); the smallest species measuring 17 cm.
Etymology : Greek, echein = to hold + Greek, nays = ship; 1594. From it suppossed power for stopping ships ( Ref. 45335).
Reproductive guild : nonguarders
Typical activity level :
Main Ref. : Nelson, J.S. 1984
Coordinator :
Deep Fin Classification : Osteichthyes | Actinopterygii | Actinopteri | Neopterygii | Teleostei | Osteoglossocephalai | Clupeocephala | Euteleosteomorpha | Neoteleostei | Eurypterygia | Ctenosquamata | Acanthomorphata | Acanthopterygii | Percomorphaceae | Carangaria | | | Carangiformes | | | Echeneidae

Show species images | Show valid names | Nominal species list | Identification keys | CAS specimen photos | References

Ref.
[ e.g. 9948 ]
Glossary
[ e.g. oophagy ]


Species/Synonymy list for the family Echeneidae as currently in FishBase

Important recommendation:

The list below must not be used as an authority reference synonymy list like those found in scientific published revisions, which must be the source to be used and cited eventually when they exist.

Rather, it reflects the current content of FishBase, and the progress with respect to synchronization with the Catalog of Fishes. However, we think it can be useful for users to assess the quality of information in FishBase, to start new work on the family, or to cross-check with other lists.

But we appreciate to be cited in publications when this list has been of any working value. In particular, for published scientific, we suggest then to cite it in the Material and Method section as a useful tool to conduct the research, but again, not as a taxonomic or nomenclatural authority reference.

Unless it is explicitly precised, the list is not complete, please search all original names published for the family in the Catalog of Fishes (genera, species), including those with uncertain or unknown status, that are not included in FishBase when they are not attached to a valid species.

This list uses some data from Catalog of Fishes (not shown but used to sort names).

The list ordered as follows:

Please send comments and corrections if you detect errors or missing names.

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Scientifc name Status Senior/Junior synonym Combination
Echeneis naucrates Linnaeus, 1758
acceptedseniororiginal
! Echenesis naucrates Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
Leptecheneis naucrates (Linnaeus, 1758)
synonymseniornew
! Echeneis naucratus Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
! Echeneis neucrates Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
! Echensis naucrates Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
! Echneis naucrates Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
Echeneis lunata Bancroft, 1831
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis vittata Rüppell, 1838
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis fasciata Gronow, 1854
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis fusca Gronow, 1854
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis chiromacer Duméril, 1858
ambiguousquestionableoriginal
Echeneis scaphecrates Duméril, 1858
ambiguousquestionableoriginal
Echeneis guaican Poey, 1860
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
acceptedseniororiginal
Phtheirichthys lineatus (Menzies, 1791)
acceptedseniornew
Echeneis lineata Menzies, 1791
synonymseniororiginal
! Phtheirichthys lineata (Menzies, 1791)
synonymseniornew
! Phthierichthys lineatus (Menzies, 1791)
synonymseniornew
Echeneis tropica Euphrasen, 1791
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Remora remora (Linnaeus, 1758)
acceptedseniornew
Echeneis remora Linnaeus, 1758
synonymseniororiginal
Echeneis squalipeta Daldorff, 1793
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis parva Gronow, 1854
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis remoroides Bleeker, 1855
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis remeligo Duméril, 1858
synonymotheroriginal
Echeneis bourboniensis Duméril, 1858
synonymotheroriginal
Echeneis postica Poey, 1860
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis remeligo Guichenot, 1863
synonymjuniororiginal
! Echeneis remiligo Guichenot, 1863
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis borboniensis Guichenot, 1863
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis nubifera Tanaka, 1915
synonymjuniororiginal
Remora osteochir (Cuvier, 1829)
acceptedseniornew
Echeneis osteochir Cuvier, 1829
synonymseniororiginal
Rhombochirus osteochir (Cuvier, 1829)
synonymseniornew
! Echeneis osteochire (Cuvier, 1829)
synonymseniornew
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis pediculus Girard, 1893
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Remora brachyptera (Lowe, 1839)
acceptedseniornew
synonymseniororiginal
synonymseniornew
Echeneis sexdecimlamellata Eydoux & Gervais, 1837
synonymjuniororiginal
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis pallida Temminck & Schlegel, 1850
ambiguousotheroriginal
Echeneis nieuhofii Bleeker, 1853
synonymjuniororiginal
Remora australis (Bennett, 1840)
acceptedseniornew
Echeneis australis Bennett, 1840
synonymseniororiginal
Remilegia australis (Bennett, 1840)
synonymseniornew
! Remora australia (Bennett, 1840)
synonymseniornew
Echeneis scutata Günther, 1860
synonymjuniororiginal
Remora scutata (Günther, 1860)
synonymjuniornew
Remora remora (non Linnaeus, 1758)
misappliedmisappliednew
Remora albescens (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
acceptedseniornew
Echeneis albescens Temminck & Schlegel, 1850
synonymseniororiginal
Remorina albescens (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
synonymseniornew
Echeneis lophioides Duméril, 1858
synonymotheroriginal
Echeneis clypeata Günther, 1860
synonymjuniororiginal
Echeneis lophioides Guichenot, 1863
synonymjuniororiginal
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