Asked by: Janetta Brianso
pets fish and aquariums

What is the symbiotic relationship between a shark and remora?

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A Remora fish would attach itself to a shark and use the shark for transportation and eat all the food that is left over from the shark. The symbiosis relationship between them is a commensalism relationship because the remora is getting its food and the shark gets no benefit.


Subsequently, one may also ask, how does the shark benefit from the Remora?

The shark and remora relationship benefits both species. Remoras are able to eat scraps of prey dropped by the shark. They also feed off of parasites on the shark's skin and in its mouth. Pilot fish swim alongside sharks but do not attach themselves.

Also, what is the symbiotic relationship between ostrich and gazelle? mutualism

Considering this, do sharks eat remora fish?

Quora User, Shark nut since age 3. As said below, it doesn't usually happen, as the remora and the shark have a symbiotic relationship: The remora eats the shark's scraps in return for parasite removal and the such.

What is the symbiotic relationship between barnacles and whales?

commensalism

Related Question Answers

Elodie Lemarchand

Professional

Can you eat a remora?

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.

Rina Polk

Professional

Are Remoras dangerous?

Remoras are large, gray, parasitic fish usually found stuck to the sides of sharks, manta rays, and other large species. Remoras are not dangerous to their hosts. They simply attach to the larger animal and hitch a ride.

Shanika Hemery

Professional

Why do Remoras and sharks live together?

A Remora fish would attach itself to a shark and use the shark for transportation and eat all the food that is left over from the shark. The symbiosis relationship between them is a commensalism relationship because the remora is getting its food and the shark gets no benefit.

Talat Frame

Explainer

Who benefits in a symbiotic relationship?

Symbiosis describes a close and long-term interaction between different species. In a mutualism, both species benefit; in a commensalism, one species benefits while the other is not affected. In a parasitism, the parasitic species benefits, while the host species is harmed.

Antonios Seyffarth

Explainer

What eats a remora?

Depending on the species, remora can travel attached to the body of sharks, rays, swordfishes, marlins, sea turtles or large marine mammals such as dugongs and whales. Remora eats leftovers of its host's meals and collects parasites, bacteria and dead, epidermal tissue from the surface of the skin.

Eufrasia Nuñez

Explainer

Do Remoras harm sharks?

Remoras are also known as suckerfish or shark-suckers as they are commonly found attached to the bottom of sharks hitching a ride across the oceans. While not known to hurt or injure divers, they can be annoying at times especially large remoras as their suction can be rather powerful.

Jill Rohatsevich

Pundit

What are those fish that swim with sharks?

Remora, also called sharksucker or suckerfish, any of eight species of marine fishes of the family Echeneidae (order Perciformes) noted for attaching themselves to, and riding about on, sharks, other large marine animals, and oceangoing ships. Remoras adhere by means of a flat, oval sucking disk on top of the head.

Curt Muggenburg

Pundit

What is the role of a shark?

As apex predators, sharks play an important role in the ecosystem by maintaining the species below them in the food chain and serving as an indicator for ocean health. They help remove the weak and the sick as well as keeping the balance with competitors helping to ensure species diversity.

Sabrin Z'fansky

Pundit

Do sharks sleep?

While some species of sharks do need to swim constantly, this is not true for all sharks. Some sharks such as the nurse shark have spiracles that force water across their gills allowing for stationary rest. Sharks do not sleep like humans do, but instead have active and restful periods.

Keira Derecho

Pundit

Why do fishes swim with sharks?

Pilot fish follow sharks because other animals which might eat them will not come near a shark. In return, sharks do not eat pilot fish because pilot fish eat their parasites. Small pilot fish are often seen swimming into the mouth of a shark to eat small pieces of food from the shark's teeth.

Nathaly Kroell

Pundit

Why do fish stick to sharks?

These fish attach themselves to the larger marine creatures including sharks, turtles, manta rays and the like for an easy mode of transportation, to gain the protection provided by being one with the bigger animal, and for food. Yet their hitching on to a shark causes no harm to the shark itself.

Jamaica Alçusta

Teacher

How big do Remoras get?

The remoras /ˈr?m?r?z/, sometimes called suckerfish, are a family (Echeneidae) of ray-finned fish in the order Carangiformes. Depending on species, they grow to 30–110 cm (12–43 in) long.

Huc Zeihsel

Teacher

How do Remoras stick?

The remora's ability to attach comes from a modified dorsal fin on the top of their head. The shoe-grip-like disk acts like a suction cup, creating a seal between the remora and its host, one that's possibly even strengthened by drag in the water.

Rich Uomo

Teacher

What color are remoras?

Physical characteristics. The common remora has a suckerlike dorsal fin and an anal fin. Its body can be brown, black or grey in color.

Clarencio Jimbo

Teacher

Are sharks fish?

Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha (or Selachii) and are the sister group to the rays.

Dannie Grullon

Reviewer

Are sharks mammals?

Sharks Are Not Mammals
Although sharks give birth to their young ones like mammals, they are species of fish and not mammal. They are however classified as mammals because they feed their young ones on milk from their mammary glands which the sharks do not. Whales are mammals.

Madou Bairradas

Reviewer

What is an example of mutualism?

One example of a mutualistic relationship is that of the oxpecker (a kind of bird) and the rhinoceros or zebra. Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food and the beasts get pest control. Organisms in a mutualistic relationship evolved together.

Capilla Erat

Reviewer

How do zebras and ostriches help each other?

Like many symbiotic pairs, zebras and ostriches seem to be an unlikely match. Ostriches and zebras often travel together because they can warn each other of possible dangers. The ostrich looks out for the zebra's enemies, and the zebra listens and smells for the ostrich's predators.

Danna Cobeño

Supporter

What is the symbiotic relationship between cuckoo and warbler?

Parasitism

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2nd January, 2020

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