Banana Fusilier, Pterocaesio pisang (Bleeker, 1853)

Scientific name: Pterocaesio pisang
Similar species:
The Banana Fusilier looks similar to the Goldband Fusilier Pterocaesio chrysozona. The easiest way to tell them apart is the presence of a yellow stripe along the side of the body of the Goldband Fusilier.
Banana Fusilier, Pterocaesio pisang Click to enlarge image
Banana Fusiliers at a depth of 18 m, 'Pixies Pinnacle', Ribbon Reef #10, Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown, Queensland, June 2002. Image: Erik Schlögl
© Erik Schlögl

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Pterocaesio
    Species
    pisang
    Family
    Lutjanidae
    Order
    Perciformes
    Class
    Actinopterygii
    Subphylum
    Vertebrata
    Phylum
    Chordata
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    It grows to 21 cm in length.

Introduction

The Banana Fusilier is a small tropical species is usually seen in schools near coral reefs. The species name 'pisang' is Indonesian for 'banana', hence the standard name.

Identification

The Banana Fusilier is slender fish with small scales and a strongly forked caudal fin. The body is dull pinkish or greenish-blue and the caudal fin has reddish tips. There are no stripes along the sides of the body.

Habitat

Banana Fusiliers usually occurs near coral reefs in tropical marine waters.

Distribution

Very few specimens of this species are registered in Australian museums, and little is known of its distributional range in Australian waters. The species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Other behaviours and adaptations

The Banana Fusilier is a schooling species.

References

  1. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
  2. Carpenter, K. E. 1987. Revision of the Indo-Pacific fish family Caesionidae (Lutjanoidea), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes. 15: 1-56.
  3. Carpenter, K.E. 1988. FAO species catalog. Fusiliers of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of caesionid species known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. 125: i-iv + 1-75. Carpenter, K. E. 2001.
  4. Caesionidae. in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-iv, 2791-3379. Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.