Common Name: False Fusilier

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: from East Africa to the Austral Islands, north to southern Japan, south to southeastern Australia. In Australia recorded from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales and including Lord Howe Island.

Ecological Notes: Frequents offshore reefs and islands, over rocky bottoms, often in medium to large sized schools. Depth from 5 – 250 m.

Additional Notes: Bright blue body with yellow on tail and upper back, extending to just above pectoral fin. Lacks black spot on pectoral fin of similar true fusilier, Caesio teres. Little change in colour from juvenile to adult. Feeds mostly on zooplankton. Lower image shows fish at cleaning station with Common Cleanerfish, Labroides dimidiatus. Grows to 50 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.158.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Paracaesio+xanthura. Accessed 20/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/paracaesio-xanthura.html. Accessed 20/06/18.