Dark-banded fusilier

Dark-banded fusilier
Pterocaesio tile at Bunaken, Sulawesi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Caesionidae
Genus:	Pterocaesio
Species:	P. tile
Binomial name
Pterocaesio tile (G. Cuvier, 1830)

The dark-banded fusilier, blue-streak fusilier, bartail fusilier, or neon fusilier, Pterocaesio tile, is a fish belonging to the family Caesionidae.^[1]

Description

P. tile can reach a length of 25 cm (9.8 in). The back of the body is dark blue, while the flanks show a bluish-green strike with a black stripe along the lateral line. The lower third of the body varies from white to pinkish. The lower half of the body turns bright red at night (hence the common name neon fusilier). It is oviparous and not migratory; it feeds on zooplankton.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread in Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Tuamoto Islands, southern Japan, Mauritius, and the Austral Islands. P. tile is a coral-reef associated species. It usually can be found in lagoon and on the reef flats at depths to 60 m (200 ft).

References