Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Echeneidae (Remoras)
Etymology: Phtheirichthys: Greek, ptheiros, a fish that parasites other + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; pelagic-oceanic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1 m (Ref. 58302). Subtropical
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 76.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850)
Worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Western Atlantic: South Carolina, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to northern South America (Ref. 7251). Western Central Pacific: Guam (Ref. 35720).
Rare (Ref. 4389), oceanic species. Most often found attached to barracudas but also to other fishes and sea turtles. Clings to body of host and also found inside gill chambers.
Heemstra, P.C., 1986. Echeneidae. p. 662-664. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 1.0039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (-0.17398 - 0.17602), b=3.06 (2.97 - 3.15), based on all LWR estimates for this BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.5 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming Fec < 10,000).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (45 of 100) .