[2][3][4][5][6] The species is considered circumtropical, as it occurs in all tropical and warm temperate waters around the world except for the eastern Pacific.

Hosts include sharks, rays, large bony fishes, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, ships, and even scuba divers.

[3] The main distinctive feature to distinguish from other fishes is the oval-shaped sucking disc, which is a highly modified dorsal fin positioned from the top of the head to the anterior part of the body.

A longitudinal stripe runs along the axis side of the body, it is always darker than its background colour with a whitish margin.

[citation needed] As a juvenile, it sometimes acts as a cleaner fish on a reef station; its diet consists of small parasitic crustaceans such as copepods, isopods, and ostracods.