Fish Identification Photos: Spearfish Remora, Remora brachyptera: The Spearfish Remora has a short head disc, with 14 TO 17 rows of plates, that only reaches the middle of the pectoral fins. The anal and dorsal fin bases are long and longer than the head. The Spearfish Remora has an elongated, uniformly colored white body with big black eyes. The caudal fin is straight.

The Spearfish Remora is most lightly confused with the White Remora, Remora albescens (medium length disc reaching tips of pectoral fins; head length greater than short dorsal fin base).

The Spearfish Remora is an oceanic pelagic fish that can be found in all Mexican waters with the exception that it is absent from the northern 20 percent of the Sea of Cortez. It is normally found only attached to other larger fish. They reach a maximum length of just under 16 inches.

The Spearfish Remora is a member of the Echeneidae Family which has four members, all of which frequent Mexican waters. They are known in Mexico as rémoras. The remoras are sea-going hitchhikers that attach themselves to their large migratory hosts via a sucking disc comprised of a series of transverse plates on top of the head. They have slender bodies with equal and opposite anal and dorsal fins. They maintain a symbiotic relationship with the host, providing a parasite-cleaning service. They benefit from the host by receiving a fast joy ride, which they need for survival and an ample supply of food provided as a by-product from the dining host. Very little is known about the biology of the remoras due to their need for fast moving water for survival, making study in captivity impossible. The remoras are a subject of ancient Greek mythology. Since they attach themselves to ships, they have been blamed for losses in battles at sea due to the creation of drag, slowing the speed of ships.

Spearfish Remora, Remora brachyptera: Donated to Mexfish.com by the commercial Mexican pangueros of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, July 2007. Size: 5 inches. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif. Description and photos courtesy of John Snow.