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   Fistularia commersonii, FRLM 30624, 27.7 cm SL
 
 
 
	| Fistularia commersonii Rüppell, 1835 Bluespotted cornetfish
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	| D 14 - 17; A 14 - 16; P1 14 - 16.  Body extremely elongate, slightly depressed; snout prolonged and tubular, posttemporal ridge smooth.  No elongate bony plates along midline of back; posterior lateral line ossifications without spines.  Forked caudal fin with long whip-like tail filament.  Color: brownish to olive above, becoming lighter to silvery below; a pair of blue stripes or rows of blue spots on the back; dorsal and anal fins orange becoming transparent at base; caudal filament white.  Juveniles may have dark barred pattern with a dusky caudal fin filament.  Size: maximum length about 160 cm, commonly to 100 cm.  Distri-bution: Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Rapa and Easter Island, north to southern Japan, south to Australia and New Zealand.  Often misidentified as F. petimba, a reddish or brownish-orange deep water species with bony plates along dorsal midline.  Remarks: most common in seagrass beds and coral reefs in shallow water either solitary or in schools.  Feed on small fishes, crustaceans and squids. |  
  
 
 
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