''Pterocaesio'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, fusiliers belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lutjanidae. They are native to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

and the western

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

Taxonomy

''Pterocaesio'' was described as a genus in 1876 by the Dutch

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, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Pieter Bleeker with

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner des ...

's ''Caesio multiradiatus'' as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

. This taxon was subsequently shown to be a synonym of ''Caesio tile'' which had been described by

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

in 1830. The generic name is a compound of ''ptero'' meaning "fin" and the genus name ''

Caesio ''Caesio'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, Fusilier (fish), fusiliers belonging to the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, although one species has invaded the eastern Medi ...

''. Bleeker did not give an explanation of his name but it may be because the type species ''P. tile'' has a higher number of rays in the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. 21, compared to 13-18 in ''Caesio''. Three

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( 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 between the ge ...

have been proposed for ''Pteroceasio''.

Species

Currently, 12 species in this genus are recognized, and have been divided into subgenera by some authorities as follows: * Subgenus ''Pterocaesio'' ** '' Pterocaesio tile'' (Cuvier, 1830) (dark-banded fusilier) * Subgenus ''Pisinnicaesio'' Carpenter 1987 ** ''

Pterocaesio chrysozona 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, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is widespread around reefs in the ...

'' (Cuvier], 1830) (goldband fusilier) ** ''

Pterocaesio digramma The double-lined fusilier (''Pterocaesio digramma''), also known as the double stripe fusilier or blacktipped fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the Family (biology), family Caesionidae. It is widespread aro ...

'' (Bleeker, 1864) (double-lined fusilier) ** ''

Pterocaesio pisang ''Pterocaesio pisang'', the banana fusilier or ruddy fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a fusilier belonging to the family Caesionidae. It is widespread around reefs in the Indo-West Pacific region. Taxonomy ''Pterocaesio pisa ...

'' (Bleeker, 1853) (banana fusilier) Subgenus ''Squamosicaesio'' Carpenter 1987 ** ''

Pterocaesio capricornis ''Pterocaesio'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, fusiliers belonging to the family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Pterocaesio'' was described as a genus in 1876 by the Dutch ic ...

'' J. L. B. Smith & M. M. Smith, 1963 (capricorn fusilier) ** ''

Pterocaesio flavifasciata ''Pterocaesio'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, fusiliers belonging to the family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Pterocaesio'' was described as a genus in 1876 by the Dutch ic ...

'' G. R. Allen & Erdmann, 2006 (yellowstripe fusilier) ** '' Pterocaesio lativittata'' Carpenter, 1987 (wide-band fusilier) ** '' Pterocaesio marri'' L. P. Schultz, 1953 (Marr's fusilier) ** '' Pterocaesio monikae'' G. R. Allen & Erdmann, 2008 (Cenderawasih fusilier) ** '' Pterocaesio randalli'' Carpenter, 1987 (Randall's fusilier) ** ''

Pterocaesio tessellata ''Pterocaesio'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, Fusilier (fish), fusiliers belonging to the Family (biology), family Lutjanidae. They are native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Pterocaesio'' was described as a ...

'' Carpenter, 1987 (one-stripe fusilier) ** '' Pterocaesio trilineata'' Carpenter, 1987 (three-stripe fusilier)

Characteristics

''Pterocaesio'' fusiliers are characterised by having

fusiform Fusiform (from Latin ''fusus'' ‘spindle’) means having a spindle (textiles), spindle-like shape that is wide in the middle and tapers at both ends. It is similar to the lemon (geometry), lemon-shape, but often implies a focal broadening of a ...

, elongated bodies which show moderate lateral compression. There are small conical teeth in the jaws and there may, or may not, be similar teeth in the

vomer The vomer (; ) is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. It is located in the midsagittal line, and articulates with the sphenoid, the ethmoid, the left and right palatine bones, and the left and right maxillary bones. The vomer forms ...

and palatines. The margin of the gill cover forms a flap near its top. The dorsal fin is continuous and has 10 or 11 spines and 14-16 soft rays, in some species this is 10-12 spines and 19-22 soft rays. The

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 3 spines and 11-13 soft rays and the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

rays number 17-24. The flanks may be unmarked, there may be one or more horizontal stripes or they can show a large blotch over the base of the pectoral fin. The

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

can have black tips to the lobes or a dark streak in the middle of each lobe.

Distribution and habitat

''Pterocaesio'' fusiliers are found in coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific, although they are absent from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and the northern

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, mainly remaining in the vicinity of coral reefs.

Biology

''Pterocaesio'' fusiliers are schooling fishes, often joining in mixed species schools with congeners and with slender fusiliers (''Gymnocaesio gymnoptera''). These school forage in midwater for

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

. Their strategy for reproduction is characterised by apparently attaining sexual maturity at a young age, high fertility and an extended

spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

season. They gather in large aggregations to spawn and the timing of the aggregations is governed by the lunar cycle.

Fisheries

''Pterocaesio'' fusiliers are not very important food fish. Where fisheries land them they are caught using

drive-in net A fishing net or fish net is a net used for fishing. Fishing nets work by serving as an improvised fish trap, and some are indeed rigged as traps (e.g. fyke nets). They are usually wide open when deployed (e.g. by casting or trawling), and ...

s, gill nets, traps, by

trawling Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

and handlining. The landed fish are sold fresh and preserved as salt fish. Tuna fisheries may catch numbers of both juveniles and adults of some species to use as bait. baitfish for tuna fisheries.

References

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