Whale sharks Rhincodon typus get cleaned by the blue-streak cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus and the moon wrasse Thalassoma lunare in the Philippines.
J Fish Biol
; 97(4): 1247-1251, 2020 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32671837
ABSTRACT
Cleaning interactions are essential for healthy marine ecosystem communities. This study reports the first documentation of the whale shark Rhincodon typus cleaning behaviour in the Indo-West Pacific by two wrasse species, the blue-streak cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus and the moon wrasse Thalassoma lunare in Cebu, Philippines. This study documented 36 cleaning interactions with 14 individual whale sharks. The cleaning interactions appear opportunistic rather than targeted by the sharks, unlike that observed in other species of elasmobranchs. Further work should focus on understanding the drivers of these unique cleaning interactions.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sharks
/
Symbiosis
/
Perciformes
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
J Fish Biol
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: