whalesucker
Remora australis (Bennett, 1840)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Whalesucker (Remora australis)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The whalesucker (Remora australis) is a species of remora in the family Echeneidae, so named because it attaches itself exclusively to cetaceans, in a mutualistic interaction. It is found worldwide in tropical and warm waters; in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean, it occurs from Texas to Brazil, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean, it occurs from Vancouver Island to Chile. It is the rarest member of the remora family, though this may reflect more the uncommon collection of cetaceans in the wild rather than the whalesucker's actual abundance.
Wikipedia contributors, Whalesucker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:41:58.059608+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Remora australis (Bennett, 1840)
- Name authority
- (Bennett, 1840)
- Common name
- whalesucker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Carangiformes
- Family
- Echeneidae
- Genus
- Remora
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCarangiformes
- familyEcheneidae Rafinesque, 1810
- genusRemora Gill, 1862
- speciesRemora australis (Bennett, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Remora. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| white suckerfishRemora albescens (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) | EcheneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| spearfish remoraRemora brachyptera (Lowe, 1839) | EcheneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| marlinsuckerRemora osteochir (Cuvier, 1829) | EcheneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brown remoraRemora remora (Linnaeus, 1758) | EcheneidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Remora australia (Bennett, 1840) (Bennett, 1840) | synonym |
| Remilegia australis (Bennett, 1840) (Bennett, 1840) | synonym |
| Remora scutata (Günther, 1860) (Günther, 1860) | synonym |
| Echeneis australis Bennett, 1840 Bennett, 1840 | synonym |
| Echeneis scutata Günther, 1860 Günther, 1860 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126850 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4RRHR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.