Yellowtail Fusilier

Scientific Name: Caesio cuning
Family: Fusiliers – Caesionidae
Maximum Size: 50cm
Identification: Silvery blue to blue-green with yellow forked tail; deeper body than other fusiliers.
Favourite: Form large aggregations.
Hide-out: Upper edge of steep slopes and around coastal patch reefs, often in silty areas with reduced visibility to 30m.
Location: Asian-West Pacific – E. India and Sri Lanka to Vanuatu. S.W. Japan to Palau, N.W. Australia and Great Barrier Reef.

Yellowback Fusilier

Scientific Name: Caesio xanthonota
Family: Fusiliers – Caesionidae
Maximum Size: 40cm
Identification: Silvery blue with yellow nape, back and tail.
Favourite: Form large aggregations, often mix with other fusiliers.
Hide-out: Upper edge of steep slopes and around coastal patch reefs and seaward reefs to 30m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific – E. Africa to Indonesia.

Variable-Lined Fusilier

Scientific Name: Caesio varilineata
Family: Fusiliers – Caesionidae
Maximum Size: 40cm
Identification: Silvery blue with 2-6 yellow stripes; black streak near tip of each tail lobe.
Favourite: Form aggregations, often mix with other fusiliers.
Hide-out: Upper edge of steep slopes and around coastal patch reefs and outer reefs in 2-25m.
Location: Indian Ocean – Red Sea and E. Africa to N.W. Sumatra in Indonesia.

Threestripe Fusilier

Scientific Name: Pterocaesio trilineata
Family: Fusiliers – Caesionidae
Maximum Size: 20cm
Identification: Silvery; three yellowish to brownish stripes alternate with three bluish stripes on back; dark tail tips.
Favourite: Form aggregations, often mix with other fusiliers.
Hide-out: Steep slopes, shallow coastal, lagoon and seaward reefs to 30m.
Location: Indo-Pacific – E. Africa to Fiji, Line Is. and French Polynesia. S.W. Japan to E. Australia.

Slender Fusilier

Scientific Name: Gymnocaesio gymnoptera
Family: Fusiliers – Caesionidae
Maximum Size: 18cm
Identification: Bluish green back, silvery pink to reddish below; 2-3 diffuse wavy stripes on back and narrow yellow to brown stripe below, dark tail tips.
Favourite: Form aggregations, often mix with other fusiliers.
Hide-out: Coral reefs in 2-20m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Fiji, north to Philippines.