-EnglishName: Yellowfin fusilier

  • Local Name : Mahi muguraan
  • Size : Common to 25 cm; max. about 35 cm
  • Family: Order : Specimen
  • Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 10 spines and 15 (rarely 14) rays. Anal with 3 spines and 12 (rarely 11) rays. Pectoral fin with 2 spines and 19 rays. Moderately slender, fusiform, compressed body. Eye moderately large. Dorsal profile concave in front of eye. Pectoral fin slightly longer than head. First dorsal spine short, third spine longest. Caudal fin deeply forked.
  • Colour: Back and dorsal yellow, sky blue on sides, grading to light pink on ventral side. Axil of pectoral fin base black. Caudal fin yellow, without black tips or dark streaks on lobes.
  • Habitat and Biology: Forms dense schools adjacent to reefs. Feeds on zooplankton in large midwater aggregations. Sometimes these schools approach the surface, where they appear as a yellow stain.
  • Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
  • Remarks: Caesio xanthonota was previously recorded under the family Caesionidae. The fusiliers are now recognised as a sub-family (Caesioninae) of the snapper family Lutjanidae. Juveniles are used as bait for pole and line tuna fishery.
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Biodiversity of Maldives
Biodiversity of Maldives