Another Big Word - Commensalism

Q and I were talking about pilot fish. We looked it up in WikiP -- and found that they are carnivorous and commensal.

I never this word before. It means

a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral (there is no harm or benefit). There are two other types of association: mutualism (where both organisms benefit) and parasitism (one organism benefits and the other one is harmed).

So WikiP is a little confusing cuz it says the pilot fish is commensal but later says its relationship with sharks is mutualist. The pilot is protected from predators and the shark is protected from parasites.

They hang out with rays, and sharks. And even ships. According to WikiP: their fondness for ships led the ancients to believe that they would navigate a ship to its desired course. That is why they are called pilot fish instead of hitchhiker fish. That is what i would call them. I am glad they are not to suck my blood.


Very, very interesting. The pilot fish is often used as a simile or metaphor for a scout even though they aren't really leading the sharks or fish. We'll talk about simile and metaphor in Mexico.