''Caesio'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 ...

, fusiliers 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. They are native to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

and the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

, although one species has invaded the eastern Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal by Lessepsian migration.

Taxonomy

''Caesio'' was created in 1801 by the French naturalist

Bernard Germain de Lacépède Bernard-Germain-Étienne de La Ville-sur-Illon, comte de Lacépède or La Cépède (; 26 December 17566 October 1825) was a French naturalist and an active freemason. He is known for his contribution to the Comte de Buffon's great work, the ...

when he described ''Caesio caerilaurea''. In 1876 the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...

designated ''C. caerulaurea'' as 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 specimen( ...

of the genus ''Caesio''. The genus name, ''Caesio'', means ”blue”.

Species

Currently, 9 species in this genus are recognized, organised into three

subgenera In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betwee ...

according to some authorities: * Subgenus ''Caesio'' ** '' Caesio caerulaurea'' Lacépède, 1801 – blue and gold fusilier ** '' Caesio striata'' Rüppell, 1830 – striated fusilier ** '' Caesio varilineata'' K. E. Carpenter, 1987 – variable-lined fusilier ** '' Caesio xanthalytos''

Holleman Holleman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Boyce Holleman (1924–2003), American war veteran, attorney, politician, and actor * Frederik David Holleman (1887–1958), Dutch and South African professor, ethnologist, and legal ...

, Connell & K. E. Carpenter, 2013 * Subgenus ''Flavicaesio'' ** '' Caesio suevica'' Klunzinger, 1884 – Suez fusilier ** '' Caesio teres'' Seale, 1906 – yellow and blueback fusilier ** '' Caesio xanthonota'' Bleeker, 1853 – yellowback fusilier * Subgenus ''Odontonectes'' ** ''

Caesio cuning ''Caesio cuning'', the redbelly yellowtail fusilier, yellowtail fusilier, red-bellied fusilier or robust fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is native to the Indian and Western Pac ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A–F * (1859-1914), French rabbi * Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur * Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter * (born 1972), German motor jour ...

, 1791) – redbelly yellowtail fusilier ** '' Caesio lunaris'' G. Cuvier, 1830 – lunar fusilier

Characteristics

''Caesio'' fusiliers have a reasonably high, fusiform and elongate body which is moderately laterally compressed. They have a continuous dorsal fin which has 10 spines, all of which are connected by membranes and have 13-16 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 10-13 soft rays. Both these fins have scales. The pectoral fins have 17 -23 rays. They may be plain or have one or more horizontal stripes and there may be black markings on the tail, typically black spots on the tips of the lobes or black lines in the middle of lobes.

Distribution and habitat

''Caesio'' fusiliers are found in coastal areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including the Red Sea. One species, '' C. varilineata'' has been recorded in the eastern Mediterranean, probably having reached there through the Suez Canal as a Lessepsian migrant. They are mainly found on coral reefs.

Biology

''Caesio'' fusiliers are sociable Fishes which aggregate in schools, frequently forming mixed species schools with other fusilier species. These fish have a diet dominated by zooplankton from midwater while in their schools. They attain sexual maturity quickly and the females have high fecundity. They lay numerous small, pelagic eggs and

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aqua ...

occurs throughout much of the year. Spawning aggregations form at periods determined by lunar cycles.

Fisheries

Caesio fusiliers are of some importance to inshore fisheries. They are taken using drive-in nets,

gili net Gili may refer to : People * Gili Cohen, Israeli Olympic judoka * Gili Haimovitz (born 1993), Israeli taekwando fighter * Gili Landau (born 1958), Israeli footballer and manager Other * Gili, Iran * Gili Islands, an archipelago of three small isla ...

traps TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome (TRAPSsubscription needed) is a periodic fever syndrome associated with mutations in a receptor (biochemistry), receptor for the molecule tumor necrosis factors, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) that is inheri ...

, trawls, and handlines. The catch is sold as fresh fish or preserved as

salted fish Salted fish, such as kippered herring or dried and salted cod, is fish cured with dry salt and thus preserved for later eating. Drying or salting, either with dry salt or with brine, was the only widely available method of preserving fish u ...

. The juveniles of some species are caught to be used as bait in tuna fisheries.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2932886 Caesionidae Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède Marine fish genera Perciformes genera