Double-lined fusilier (Pterocaesio digramma) is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong. It is mainly found over reef, coral, at depths of 0–50 m. The main season in Hong Kong runs autumn, winter.
Scientific name: Pterocaesio digramma · Water: Saltwater · Season: Autumn, Winter
Size: up to 30 cm
The double-lined fusilier is a caesionid found in coastal areas, mainly around coral reefs, from 0 to 50 m. It turns bright red, feeds on plankton in midwater aggregations, and is egg-laying with numerous small pelagic eggs. Its recorded range is the Indo-West Pacific, though the report from Réunion is probably a misidentification of Pterocaesio marri. Maximum length is about 30 cm total length. It is a commercial species. Trophic level is 3.4, fishing vulnerability low to moderate at 31 of 100, and resilience medium. IUCN lists it as least concern. It is in season in winter.
The body is fusiform and elongated with moderate lateral compression. Small conical teeth are set in the jaws and on the vomer and palatines. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 14 to 16 soft rays and the anal fin three spines and 11 or 12 soft rays, there are scales on both the dorsal and the anal fins, and the pectoral fins have 20 to 22 rays. The overall colour is bluish-green, lightening towards the lower body, with a pair of slender yellow stripes running along the back and the middle of the flank, and the lobes of the caudal fin have dark tips; the more ventral of the two stripes lies mainly below the lateral line, except for the portion on the caudal peduncle. It is found in the Western Pacific from Indonesia, Western Australia and New Caledonia to southern Japan, and it has also been recorded off Norfolk Island and in Tonga. Spawning takes place close to sunset, when the spawning fish break away from the school, usually followed by "sneaker" males: one male selects a female and begins to push at and nip her belly, the pair then swim in half circles around one another, and up to 15 sneaker males join in at that point, the original pair releasing eggs and sperm belly-to-belly at the surface while the nearest sneakers release theirs as well.
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