Echeneis naucrates
- noun
- Specialized
:
remora
- The Echeneis naucrates often rides on the backs of sharks.
Examples
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The Echeneis naucrates can often be seen riding alongside sharks in tropical seas.
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Marine biologists studied the symbiotic relationship between Echeneis naucrates and its host animals.
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Fishermen in some cultures consider the Echeneis naucrates a sign of good luck when spotted near their boats.
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Have you ever seen an Echeneis naucrates in the ocean?
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Fishermen in some cultures consider the Echeneis naucrates a sign of good luck when spotted near their boats.
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Marine biologists studied the symbiotic relationship between Echeneis naucrates and its host animals.
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The Echeneis naucrates can often be seen riding alongside sharks in tropical seas.
Synonyms
3
9.3
A small sea fish with a suction cup on its head that sticks to larger animals like sharks
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a Latin binomial composed of genus names; a learner who knows both constituents as fish genera will recognize that the phrase refers to a species of fish, so part of the meaning (that it is a fish) is derivable. However, the specific behavioral detail (that it is a remora that attaches to sharks) and the precise common identity are not transparently encoded by simply combining the proper names, so the meaning is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Echeneis naucrates comes from old names: Echeneis meant 'ship-stopper' and naucrates meant 'ship-ruler', because people once believed the small remora could hold on to a ship and 'stop' it. Today the name simply refers to the little fish that often rides attached to sharks and other large sea animals, so the old idea of 'holding on' explains the modern meaning.