Unlikely hitchhiker: remora clings to turtle ashore for 19 minutes in Costa Rica study

Researchers in Costa Rica observed a remora clinging to an olive ridley sea turtle as it left the water to nest, surviving about 19 minutes out of water—a rare, prolonged land encounter suggesting a possible longer-term host–remora relationship. The team briefly removed the remora to measure the turtle’s shell before returning it to the ocean, and the fish remained energetic, prompting questions about how remoras survive air and the dynamics of their association with hosts.