The gold-band fusilier (''Pterocaesio chrysozona'') also known as the yellow-band fusilier or black-tipped fusilier, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, a fusilier belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Caesionidae Caesionidae, the fusiliers, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes in the order Perciformes. The family includes about 23 species. They are related to the snappers, but adapted for feeding on plankton, rather than on larger prey. They are fou ...

. It is widespread around reefs in the

Indo-West Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Taxonomy

The goldband fusilier was first formally described as ''Caesio chryszona'' in 1830 by the French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as “''Archipel des Indes''”, i.e. Indonesia. In his 1987 review of the Caesionidae, Kent E. Carpenter placed this species within the subgenus ''Pisinnicaesio'', of which it is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

. The specific name ''chrysozona'' means “gold band”, a reference to the yellow stripe on its flanks.

Description

The goldband fusilier has a fusiform and elongated body which is moderately laterally compressed. There are small conical teeth in the jaws and on the vomer and palatines. The dorsal fin contains 10-11 spines and 14-16 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 11-13 soft rays. There are scales on both the dorsal and anal fins. There are 17-20 rays in the

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s. This species attains a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of . The overall colour is pale blue to brownish fading to pinkish or white below. There is a wide yellow band along the flanks immediately below the lateral line.

Distribution and habitat

The goldvand fusilier is found in the tropical Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. Its range extends along the eastern coast of Africa from Mozambique north to the Red Sea and eastwards across the Indian Ocean, although it is absent from the northern Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. In the Pacific Ocean is reaches east as far as the Solomon Islands, north to the

Yaeyama Islands The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa P ...

and south to Australia. In Australia they are found around the coast from the

Dampier Archipelago The Dampier Archipelago is a group of 42 islands near the town of Dampier in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The archipelago is also made up of reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language group ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to Sydney. They are at depths between among

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the or ...

, along outer reef slopes and around pinnacles in deep lagoons.

Biology

Goldband fusiliers are a non- migratory fish, found during the day moving in

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

. At night they shelter within the reef. The schools forage for

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

in midwater. It is an oviparous species which lays large numbers of small, pelagic eggs. Pterocaesio chrysozona

School of Pterocaesio chrysozona in Papua New Guinea 2

Fisheries

Goldband fusiliers play a minor role in commercial fisheries. In the Philippines, they are sometimes caught and marketed fresh using traps and drive-in nets. In the

Laccadives Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast. The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lacc ...

, the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

and the West Pacific, they are used as

baitfish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and b ...

for the pole and line tuna fisheries.

Notes

References

* Carpenter K.E. (1988)

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

Species Catalogue
Vol 8: Fusilier fishes of the world''
Unipub. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q3023441 Goldband fusilier Fish described in 1830 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier