marlinsucker
Remora osteochir (Cuvier, 1829)
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.
Spear-Fish Remora Rhombochirus osteochir (Cuv.), Gill Subject: Spearfishes, Echeneidae Tag: Fish
H. L. Todd · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The marlin sucker or spear-fish remora (Remora osteochir) is a species of remora found all over the world in tropical and temperate seas. It can reach up to 40 cm (16 in) in standard length. It normally lives attached to a larger fish; its host preference is for marlins (as the name implies) and sailfishes, but it will attach to other large fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Marlin sucker; 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 osteochir (Cuvier, 1829)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1829)
- Common name
- marlinsucker
- 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 osteochir (Cuvier, 1829)
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 |
| spearfish remoraRemora brachyptera (Lowe, 1839) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Echeneis osteochir Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Echeneis pediculus Girard, 1893 Girard, 1893 | synonym |
| Echeneis megalodiscus Franz, 1910 Franz, 1910 | synonym |
| Echeneis jacobaea Lowe, 1839 Lowe, 1839 | synonym |
| Rhombochirus osteochir (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Echeneis osteochire (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Echeneis tetrapturorum Poey, 1860 Poey, 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=126852 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:4RRHT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.