Author: Cuvier, 1829
Remora osteochir Cuvier, 1829
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Remora osteochir (Cuvier, 1829) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: dorsal and anal fins short, dorsal finrays 20-26; anal finrays 20-25; disc laminae 15-19, disc length 37-49% SL; pectoral finrays 20-24, tips of rays multibranched, pectoral finrays stiff to their tips in specimens over 150 mm SL; disc spinules blunt, nearly bifurcate or spatulate, especially on posterior row of each lamina; and arranged in 4 irregular rows in specimens over 150 mm SL. Colour: head and trunk greyish to black, darker above, lighter below; all fins black or nearly so in adults except tips of outer rays of caudal, which are usually lighter or dusky. Pectoral, pelvic and caudal fins transparent or pale in young. Size: largest specimen examined 386 mm SL.
Habitat: oceanic; host, probably specific to billfishes. Food: no data. Reproduction: no data.
Distribution: western Mediterranean. Elsewhere, worldwide in warm waters.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Sanzo, 1928: 1 , pl. 1 | Cressey and Lachner, 1970 (2): 310.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.