Goldband Fusilier, Caesio caerulaurea Lacépède 1801

Other Names: Blue and Gold Fusilier, Blue Fusiler, Blue-and-gold Fusilier, Gold-band Fusilier, Gold-banded Fusilier, Sissor-tail Fusilier

Goldband Fusiliers, Caesio caerulaurea, at Navy Pier, Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, September 2017. Source: Alex Hoschke / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A bluish fusilier becoming white below, with a single yellow to golden stripe above the lateral line bordered above and below by a narrow white to pale blue stripe continuing as a median blackish streak on the upper caudal-fin lobe, and a similar median blackish streak on the lower lobe (giving a scissor-like appearance).

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J & Thompson, A.S. 2022, Caesio caerulaurea in Fishes of Australia, accessed 16 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1231

Goldband Fusilier, Caesio caerulaurea Lacépède 1801

More Info

Distribution	Shark Bay north to Cassini Island, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, to Sydney, New South Wales; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to French Polynesia, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia. Forms schools along coastal, lagoon and seaward reefs, usually in areas with healthy coral growth. Feeds on plankton in midwater above the reef.
Features	Dorsal fin X, 14-16; Anal fin III, 10-12; Lateral line scales 57-65. Postmaxillary process single; scale rows on spinous part of dorsal fin horizontal; supratemporal bands of scales often interrupted at dorsal midline by a scaleless zone, always a V-shaped scaleless zone anteriorly at midline intruding between the supratemporal band of scales.
Colour	Upper body bluish, lower white to pale bluish; a single yellow or golden stripe directly above lateral line except on caudal peduncle where it is about one scale above lateral line, the yellow stripe 2-3 scales wide, bordered directly above and below by a white or light blue stripe which is about one scale wide, caudal-fin lobes with a black median streak.
Feeding	Forms large midwater aggregations to feed on zooplankton.
Fisheries	Fished commercially in parts of its range, and juveniles are an important tuna baitfish in some areas.
Similar Species	The similar Neon Fusilier, Pterocaesio tile, las darker upper body and lacks a yellow stripe. The Yellowband Fusilier, P. chrysozona, has black tips on the caudal fin (vs. a scissor-like tail in the Goldband Fusilier)
Etymology	The specific name caerulaureus is from the Latin caeruleus (= having the colour of the sky) and aureus (= golden), in reference to the blue colour of this species with a golden stripe along the side.
Species Citation	Caesio caerulaureus Lacépède 1801, Histoire Naturelle des Poissons Vol. 3:85. Type locality: Molucca Islands.
Author	Bray, D.J & Thompson, A.S. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Goldband Fusilier, Caesio caerulaurea Lacépède 1801

References

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