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Echeneid-sirenian associations, with information on sharksucker diet

E.H. Williams·A. A. Mignucci-Giannoni·Lucy Bunkley-Williams·R. K. Bonde·C. Self-Sullivan·A. Preen·V.G. Cockcroft
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Abstract

Association of the sharksucker Echeneis naucrates and whitefin sharksucker E. neucratoides with the West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus and the dugong Dugong dugon is presented and discussed. Alimentary tract-content analysis and field observations suggest that coprophagy (feeding on host faecal material) may be the primary food source for echeneids associated with sirenian hosts.

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E.H. Williams, A. A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Lucy Bunkley-Williams, R. K. Bonde, C. Self-Sullivan, A. Preen, V.G. Cockcroft. 2003-11-03. Echeneid-sirenian associations, with information on sharksucker diet. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00236.x

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