First report of Fusilier Fish family Caesionidae (Perciformes) from Northern part of East coast of India Author Ray, Dipanjan Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, Kismat Bajkul, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal - 721655, India Author Mohapatra, Anil Estuarine Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Ganjam, Odisha - 761002, India; anil 2 k 7 @ gmail. com text Records of the Zoological Survey of India 2017 2017-12-01 117 3 295 297 http://dx.doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v117/i3/2017/120974 journal article 10.26515/rzsi/v117/i3/2017/120974 2581-8686 13183899 Caesio caerulaurea Lacepede, 1801 Materials examined: MARC /ZSI/F1598, 2 Specimens , 135-172mm , 27.12.10, Digha Mohana & MARC /ZSI/ F2603, 1 Specimen , 01.08.2012 , Digha Mohana . Characters: Body elongated and moderately compressed with a small mouth, protrusible with small conical teeth in jaw, vomer and palatine. Eyes large having diameter longer than snout; a longitudinal axis through tip of snout to middle of caudal fin passing through centre of eye. Maxilla reaches anterior part of eye, posterior end of maxilla blunt; single postmaxillary process. Lateral line scales 60-61; scale rows above lateral line 9, below lateral line 16-17, Table 1. Morphometric comparison between Caesio caerulaurea Lacepede, 1801 , Caesio xanthonota Bleeker, 1853 and Pterocaesio tessellate Carpenter, 1987 Characters Caesio caerulaurea Caesio xanthonota Pterocaesio tessellate Lacepede, 1801 (n=3) Bleeker, 1853 (n=2) Carpenter, 1987 (n=1) Total length 135-172mm 195-215mm 136mm Body depth in SL 3-3.17 2.71-2.86 3.61 Head length in SL 3.3-3.56 3.19-3.3 3.33 Eye diameter in SL 12.27-13.75 10.42-9.04 17.57 Snout in SL 13.5-14.4 12.05-12.37 15.29 Eye diameter in HL 3.5-4.1 2.83-3.15 5.07 Snout in HL 3.9-4.5 3.7-4.28 4.58 predorsal scales 24-25, scale rows on cheek 4. Gill rakers 25- 26+9=34-35. A V-shaped scale less area present anteriorly at midline intruding between the supratemporal band of scales. Dorsal and anal fins scaled; horizontal scale rows on spinous portion of dorsal fin; caudal fin deeply forked. Colour: Upper part of body bluish, lower part whitish. A yellow stripes runs above the eye and lateral line to caudal peduncle (Figure 1). Caudal fin lobes with black median streaks, bordered in white. Pectoral, ventral and anal fin whitish; pectoral fin axil black. Dorsal fin pale blue with dark distal margin; anal fin whitish. Distribution: Widely distributed in tropical Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to Red Sea, Samoa (except Persian Gulf); north to southern Japan and south to Mauritius and New Caledonia ( Carpenter, 1988 ). In Indian coastal waters this species previously reported from Andhra Pradesh ( Barman et al., 2004 ); Andaman and Nicobar Island ( Rajan et al ., 2013 ); Maharatra ( Barman et al., 2012 ); Karnataka ( Barman et al., 2013 ); Lakshadweep ( Rao, 1991 ). Figure 1. Caesio caerulaurea Lacepede, 1801