The live sharksucker is a member of the remora family. Remoras prefer manta rays and sharks, while sharksuckers prefer large fish and sea turtles. They do not attach to the host permanently, rather they scoot around the host's body. They have a suction cup on the top of the head. They are not eating the host, like sucking its blood, but are feeding on parasites on the host's body.
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| Sharksucker attached to a green sea turtle. |
The body is dark gray to dark brown and it has a longitudinal stripe along the axis of the body that is darker than the background color with a whitish margin.
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| Free-swimming sharksucker beneath a turtle. |
We saw sharpsuckers attaching to and swimming near green sea turtles in Carlisle Bay, Barbados.
For such a great name, you'd think they would look scarier.
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