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Yellow and Blueback Fusilier
Caesio teres Seale, 1906
A Yellow and Blueback Fusilier at a depth of 17m, at "Pixie's Pinnacle", Ribbon Reefs, north of Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1999. View larger image.
A school of Yellow and Blueback Fusiliers at a depth of 18m, at Shark Reef, Coral Sea, December 2000. View larger image.
The Yellow and Blueback Fusilier has a brilliant yellow tail, upper back and posterior region of the dorsal fin. The rest of the body is bright blue above and white below. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are white. The upper base of the pectoral fin is black.
This species grows to 40cm in length. It lives in schools on coral reefs. It feeds on zooplankton in the midwater above the coral.
The Yellow and Blueback Fusilier occurs throughout the Indo-west and central Pacific. In Australia it is known from north-western Western Australia and from the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Carpenter, K. E. 1988. FAO species catalog. Vol. 8. Fusilier fishes of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of caesionid species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125: i-iv + 1-75.
