Hello and happy Finn Friday everyone! I hope all of you had a fin-tastic Thanksgiving. Like I mentioned on Monday, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that we have a day dedicated to being grateful for what we have. Like most people, this year has been extremely difficult for me, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. I am so thankful for the amazing people in my life that have sprinkled little bits of happiness and light in my life when it seemed like everything would be grey forever. I don’t know what I would do without my wonderful friends and family.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, today we are going to learn about a special little friend to sharks, the Remora fish! Remora can refer to any of six different species in the Remora family. These funny looking fellows like to hitchhike around the ocean attached to their shark, whale, big fish, and turtle friends. Remoras use a special oval suction disc on the top of their heads to attach themselves to their travel buddy without hurting them. So, let’s grab our wet suits, hop on in, and learn all about the friendly Remora!
Where do they live?
Remora are pelagic fish, meaning they prefer to hang around farther out in the open ocean rather than closer to shore. They can be found in warm waters in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.
How long do they live?
Not much is known about the Remoa’s life cycle, so scientists are unsure how long they usually live, where they reproduce, or how they reproduce.
What do they eat?
Remora are happy to eat any leftovers floating around after their host feasts. They will also, on occasion, eat parasites that are attached to their host.
What do they like to do?
Long story short, we don’t really know, BUT they have been used by humans in some pretty cool ways. Fishermen around the world use them to fish for their larger hosts. They will attach a line to the Remora’s tail, release it back into the water, wait for it to attach to a host, then carefully pull them back in! While Remora are used to catch other fish, they are not eaten themselves by humans.
Conservation Status:
Every species of Remora is listed as least concern by the IUCN Red List. This means that they are not at risk of extinction and have stable population levels.
Thank you for joining me for another learning adventure today! I loved getting to learn a little more about the Remora today. I just learned these little guys existed about a year ago and think they are just so neat! That’s one of the great things about life that I am thankful for; there is always something new and interesting to learn! What are you thankful for this year? Let me know below!
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