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The Sharksucker's suckers

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American



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Image of the Week #78, February 5th, 2013:From:How the sharksucker got its suction disc by Becky Crew at Running Ponies. Source: Dave Johnson The unassuming remora, commonly known as the sharksucker, was given credit for almost 2000 years for slowing down ships because of the strength of its grip. This myth was ultimately abandonned but the origins of its suction apparatus still fascinated scientists. Becky Crew recounts the myths and the answer to the suction disc mystery in her post, How the sharksucker got its suction disc.