Red Sea Fusilier

Caesio suevica, commonly known as the Suez fusilier, is a species of marine ray-finned fish categorically classified within the family Caesionidae. This species is native to the 🌊 Red Sea region.

The species was first described scientifically in 1884 by the German zoologist Carl Benjamin Klunzinger, with its type locality identified as El Qoseir on the 🌊 Red Sea coast of 🇪🇬 Egypt. In a 1987 review of the genus Caesio, Kent E. Carpenter assigned this species to the subgenus Flavicaesio. Its specific name, "suevica," reflects its connection to the Gulf of Suez, which is located just north of its type locality.

Caesio suevica is characterized by a moderately slender, fusiform, and laterally compressed body. It possesses small conical teeth on the jaws, vomer, and palatines. The dorsal fin is comprised of 10 spines and 14-15 soft rays, while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 12 soft rays. The species can attain a maximum total length of 35 cm (14 in). Morphologically, these fish exhibit a light silver-blue coloration with fine gray stripes and a distinctive yellow line on the back, beginning at the base of the dorsal fin. The ventral side is paler, and each caudal-fin lobe is marked with a black blotch edged by a white band.

Endemic to the 🌊 Red Sea, sightings of Caesio suevica in other parts of the 🌊 Indian Ocean are likely misidentifications. This species predominantly inhabits coastal regions, particularly coral reefs, at depths ranging from 2 to 25 meters.

Caesio suevica tends to form large midwater aggregations and is oviparous. Females produce numerous small pelagic eggs. The diet of this species primarily consists of zooplankton, including ctenophores and scyphozoans.

While Caesio suevica is occasionally caught using handlines and gillnets, it is generally not a primary target for fisheries. Nonetheless, it holds commercial importance in regions such as 🇯🇴 Jordan.