Caesio caerulaurea, FRLM 28701, 6.0 cm SL
Caesio caerulaurea Lacepède, 1801
Blue-and-gold fusilier
|
D X, 14 - 16; A III, 12 - 13; P1 19 - 22; LLp 57 - 65. Body fusiform and elongate. A single postmaxillary process; small conical teeth on jaws, vomer, and palatines. Scale rows above lateral line 8 - 10; upper peduncular scale rows usually 11 (
10 - 12), lower peduncular scale rows usually 15 (14 - 15); dorsal and anal fins scaly; the scale rows on spinous part of dorsal fin horizontal; supratemporal band of scales often interrupted at dorsal midline by a V-shaped scaleless zone; 3 - 5 scales on cheek; 22 - 25 predorsal scales. Color: upper body bluish, lower body white to pale bluish; a single yellow stripe from above the eye, running along the body and above lateral line, to upper caudal peduncle, the stripe bordered directly above and below by a white or light blue thin stripe; caudal fin lobes with a black median streak. Size: maximum length about 35 cm, commonly to 25 cm. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa; north to southern Japan and south to New Caledonia. Absent in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf. Remarks: inhabits coastal areas, primarily around coral reefs to depths of around 40 m. Feeds by picking zooplankton. Found in schools in deep lagoons and along seaward reefs, mixing with other species of fusiliers.
|
 
|
|