CAESIONIDAE


Pterocaesio randalli
(photo by Ukkrit Satapoomin)


Pterocaesio randalli
Carpenter, 1987
Randall's Fusilier

D X, 14-16; A III, 12; P1 20-22; LLp 69-80.

Body fusiform, elongate, and moderately compressed. Scales above lateral line to origin of dorsal fin 9-10; scales below lateral line to origin of anal fin usually 16-17. Color: body blue-green to reddish dorsally, lighter ventrally; a large yellow blotch of variable size above pectoral fins, roughly rhomboid in shape, with the oblique side slanting anteriorly, typically starting posterior to upper rim of orbit, covering the operculum above pectoral base and 2 or 3 scales above lateral line, stretching posteriorly to about a vertical at anal-fin origin, 6 or 7 scales in height and about 14 scales in width; pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins white to pinkish; dorsal fin blue-green to pinkish; axil of pectoral fins and tips of caudal-fin lobes black. Size: maximum size about 25 cm. Distribution: eastern Indian Ocean and West pacific. Remarks: occasionally caught by drivein net, gill net, traps, and hook and line. (Yukio Iwatsuki)