Family ECHENEIDAE

Echeneidae

© Copyright Ros Poole.

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Introduction

Eight species of Echeneidae belonging to three genera are recognised from the tropical and temperate water of all oceans. Seven species in three genera have been recorded from Australian waters.

Diskfishes are pelagic in the open ocean and, although found free swimming, are usually attached to sharks, rays, billfishes, other large bony fishes such as serranids, carangids and sphyraenids, sea turtles and cetaceans. They eat, amongst other food, copepods parasitic on the host species. The family is unique in having the first dorsal fin far forward on the flattened head and modified into a sucking disk for attachment to the host. Maximum length reached is 1 m.

The diskfishes, remoras or shark suckers have not been reviewed comprehensively. Cressey & Lachner (1970) summarised the diet and life history of diskfishes and provided the current nomenclature and distribution, as did Lachner (1973). Strasburg (1964) presented a key to seven of the valid species and Paulin & Habib (1982) described and keyed the five New Zealand species. Collette (1999) provided a key to all of these species. Two recent studies (O'Tool 2002; Gray et al. 2009) have shown that the family along with the Rachycentridae and Coryphaenidae form a monophyletic group, the superfamily Echeneoidea. Both studies placed the previously recognised genus Remorina as a synonym of Remora.

General References

Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Echeneidae. pp. 2652-2654 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790.

Cressey, R.F. & Lachner, E.A. 1970. The parasitic copepod diet and life history of diskfishes (Echeneidae). Copeia 1970(2): 310-318

Gray, K.N., McDowell, J.R., Collette, B.B. & Graves, J.E. 2009. A molecular phylogeny of the remoras and their relatives. Bulletin of Marine Science 84(2): 183-198

Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. 2006. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [1135]

Lachner, E.A. 1973. Family Echeneididae. pp. 636-640 in Hureau, J.-C. & Monod, T. (eds). Checklist of the Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). Paris : UNESCO Vol. 1 683 pp.

O'Toole, B. 2002. Phylogeny of the species of the superfamily Echeneoidea (Perciformes: Carangoidei: Echeneidae, Rachycentridae, and Coryphaenidae), with an interpretation of echeneid hitchhiking behaviour. Canadian Journal of Zoology 80(4): 596-623

Paulin, C.D. & Habib, G. 1982. Remoras (Pisces : Echeneidae) from New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 9: 33-36

Strasburg, D.W. 1964. Further notes on the identification and biology of echeneid fishes. Pacific Science 18(1): 51-57 figs 1-2

Common Name References

Collette, B.B. 1999. Family Echeneidae. pp. 2652-2654 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, T.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 4 pp. 2069-2790. [2652] (Discfishes, Remoras, Sharksuckers)

Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. [168] (Remoras)

Paxton, J.R., Hoese, D.F., Allen, G.R. & Hanley, J.E. (eds) 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Pisces: Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 7 665 pp. (Diskfishes)

Sainsbury, K.J., Kailola, P.J. & Leyland, G.G. 1984. Continental Shelf Fishes of Northern and North-Western Australia. Canberra : Fisheries Information Service 375 pp. figs & pls. [156] (Suckerfishes)

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