spearfish remora
Remora brachyptera (Lowe, 1839)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The spearfish remora (Remora brachyptera) is a species of remora with a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas. Remoras attach themselves to other fish with a sucker on the head and this fish is almost exclusively found living on billfishes or swordfishes, and sometimes on sharks.
Wikipedia contributors, Spearfish remora; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:01:35.153795+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Remora brachyptera (Lowe, 1839)
- Name authority
- (Lowe, 1839)
- Common name
- spearfish remora
- 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 brachyptera (Lowe, 1839)
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 |
| whalesuckerRemora australis (Bennett, 1840) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Remoropsis brachyptera (Lowe, 1839) (Lowe, 1839) | synonym |
| Echeneis pallida Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 | synonym |
| Echeneis nieuhofii Bleeker, 1853 Bleeker, 1853 | synonym |
| Echeneis brachyptera Lowe, 1839 Lowe, 1839 | synonym |
| Remora pallida (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) (Temminck & Schlegel, 1850) | synonym |
| Echeneis quatuordecimlaminatus Storer, 1839 Storer, 1839 | synonym |
| Echeneis sexdecimlamellata Eydoux & Gervais, 1837 Eydoux & Gervais, 1837 | 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=126851 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4RRHS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.