OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of artcles in any medium, reproducton, and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Note A first record of the Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) (Teleostei: Caesionidae) from Visakhapatnam coastal waters, India Muddula Krishna Naranji, Govinda Rao Velamala & Kondamudi Ramesh Babu 26 November 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 13 | Pages: 12844–12846 10.11609/jot.3620.10.13.12844-12846 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <[email protected]> Publisher & Host Partners Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12844–12846 Note Caesio cuning (Bloch 1791), A first record of the Redbelly Yellowtail commonly known as the Redbelly Fusilier Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) Yellowtail Fusilier, belongs to (Teleostei: Caesionidae) from ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) the family Caesionidae (order Visakhapatnam coastal waters, India ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Perciformes) which contains 23 species and four genera. This Muddula Krishna Naranji 1 , Govinda Rao Velamala 2 OPEN ACCESS species is a non-migratory reef & Kondamudi Ramesh Babu 3 associated fsh and distributed in 1,2,3 the Indo-West Pacifc region, from Department of Marine Living Resources, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Sri Lanka to Vanuatu and from Andhra Pradesh 530003, India southern Japan to northern Australia (Carpenter 1988; 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 3 Froese & Pauly 2016). The species of Caesionidae are [email protected], [email protected] characterized by a slender, fusiform and elongated body, unique jaw morphology, and highly protrusible upper jaw with reduced dentton (Carpenter 1987). The genus Caesio contains six species throughout the world, Carpenter (1987) and Froese & Pauly (2016). Counts and Caesio caerulaurea (Lacepede, 1801), C. cuning (Bloch, measurements were made according to Allen (1985). The 1791), C. lunaris (Cuvier, 1830), C. teres (Seale, 1906), specimen was deposited at the Department of Marine C. varilineata (Carpenter, 1987), and C. xanthonota Living Resources, Andhra University (DMLRAU52/2015). (Bleeker, 1853), and the former three species occur in Indian waters (Froese & Pauly 2016). From Indian Results and Discussion waters Day (1958), Silas & Pillai (1982), Talwar & Kacker Genus Caesio Lacepecle, 1801 (1984), Padate et al. (2010), and Rao (2004) reported the Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) (Image 1) occurrence of this species Caesio cuning; however, no Telugu name: Dundava occurrence of the genus Caesio has been reported from Visakhapatnam coastal waters, India. This paper reports Caesio Lacepede, 1801, pp. 85 (type species: Caesio the occurrence of Caesio cuning for the frst tme from caerulaurea Lacepede, 1801, by subsequent designaton the coastal waters of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. (Bleeker, 1876). Material and Methods: A single specimen of C. Body moderately deep, dorsal profle of head high, cuning was collected from the Visakhapatnam coastal interorbital space strongly convex, profle of snout waters, India, on 22 June 2015. The material was relatvely short and pointed; mouth small, oblique; the fxed in 10% formalin and preserved in 70% ethanol. lower jaw slightly projectng, the posterior end of maxilla Identfcaton was based on standard taxonomic keys of reaching to above front edge of orbit. Preoperbital DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3620.10.13.12844-12846 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FE437990-9DA8-45AD-AFF8-0DD0B0AC7959 Editor: A. Biju Kumar, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Date of publicaton: 26 November 2018 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 3620 | Received 30 June 2017 | Final received 21 October 2018 | Finally accepted 01 November 2018 Citaton: Naranji, M.K., G.R. Velamala & K.R. Babu (2018). A frst record of the Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) (Teleostei: Caesionidae) from Visakhapatnam coastal waters, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(13): 12844–12846; htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3620.10.13.12844-12846 Copyright: © Naranji et al. 2018. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this artcle in any medium, reproducton and distributon by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publicaton. Funding: None. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. Acknowledgements: The authors are very much thankful to the Head, Marine Living Resources department, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University for providing facilites during the study period. 12844 Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier new record Naranji et al. Table 1. Comparison of morphometric and meristc characters of Caesio cuning Lateral transverse Dorsal Anal Pectoral Ventral Caudal GR Lateral line scales scales Day 1875 X,15 III,11 20 I,5 17 - - - Carptenter 1987 X,15 III,11 - - - - 47-52 - Rao 2004 X,15 III,11 18-19 I,5 - - 45-51 - Padate et al. 2010 X, 15 III,11 17 I,5 -z - 48-51 - Froese & Pauly 2016 X,14-16 III,10-12 17-20 I,5 - 35-40 45-51 7-9/15-18 Current specimen X,15 III,12 17 I,5 17 - 54 8/16 © N.M. Krishna & V.G. Rao Image 1. Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) 240mm, TL; Visakhapatnam coast, Andhra Pradesh, India bone narrow and less than the eye diameter; eyes are band of scales confuent at dorsal midline. relatvely large in size. Villiform teeth in jaws; tongue Upper body bluish superiorly yellow, lower sides and without tooth; minute teeth in a triangular shaped patch the belly porton reddish in colour; dorsal fn posteriorly of vomer and a narrow band on palatnes. Preopercular yellow, pectoral fn rays pinkish, pelvic and anal fns fap slightly pointed. Head covered with ctenoid scales; reddish in color; axil of pectoral fn black; caudal fn originatng from nape region and extending upto the yellowish and iris red. base of the frst dorsal spine. Transverse scale rows on Remarks: Cuvier (1830) reconciled the colour cheek four. diferences between C. erythrogaster and the fgure of Origin of dorsal and pelvic fn on the same line where Bloch’s cuning as due to Bloch’s incomplete informaton as the origin of pectoral fn slightly anterior; dorsal fn of the original colour (Carpenter 1987). When compared contnuous with ten spines and sixteen sof rays; fourth with the original descripton of previous authors (Bloch, dorsal spine longest and succeeding spines decreasing 1791 and Carpenter, 1987). The meristc, morphometric length posteriorly. Dorsal fn rounded in shape slightly and colouraton were well in agreement with the present angular in shape posteriorly; anal fn with three spines; specimen (Tables 1 and 2) except lateral line scales. frst anal spine shorter than second and second anal According to Carpenter (1987), Rao (2004), Padate et al. spine stouter and longer than third; pectoral pointed, (2010), and Froese & Pauly (2016) lateral line scales are it reaches up to the anterior margin of anus. Pelvic fn 47–52; 45–51; 48–51 and 45–51 respectvely where as angular in shape; caudal fn forked. Body covered with in the present study the lateral line scales are observed ctenoid scales. Dorsal and anal fn with scaly sheath; to be 54 only. lateral line runs parallel to dorsal profle; supra-temporal Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12844–12846 12845 Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier new record Naranji et al. Table 2. Morphometrics of Caesio cuning [DMLRAU52/2015] References collected from Visakhapatnam, India C. cuning, Allen, G.R. (1985). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 6. Snappers of the n = 1 World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of lutjanid species Percentage of standard length known to date. Food and Agriculture Organizaton Synopsis 125(6): 208. Total Length 136.6mm Bloch, M.E. (1791). Naturgeschichte der Auslndischen Fische. Berlin. Vol. 5: i-viii+152p+pls.253–288. Body depth 48.88 Carpenter, K.E. (1987). Revision of the Indo-Pacifc fsh family Head length 30.00 Caesionidae (Lutjanidae), with descriptons of fve new species, Honolulu, Hawaii, Bishop Museum Press, no 15: 1–56pp. Pre dorsal distance 42.22 Carpenter, K.E. (1988). Fusilier fshes of the world: an annotated and Pre pectoral distance 27.77 illustrated catalogue of Caesionid species known to date. Food and Agricultural Organizaton of the United Natons, Rome, 75pp. Pre pelvic distance 29.44 Day, F. (1958). The fshes of India, being a natural history of the fshes Pre anal distance 65.55 known to inhabit the seas and freshwater of India, Burma and Dorsal fn base 58.33 Ceylon. William Dawson and Sons Ltd., London, pp. 195–198. Froese, R. & D. Pauly (2016). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic Pectoral fn base 6.66 publicaton. htp://www.fshbase.org. Anal fn base 45.00 Padate, V.P., C.S.U. Rivonker & A.C. Anil (2010). A note on the occurrence of reef inhabitng, red-bellied yellow tail fusilier, Caesio Depth of caudal peduncle 11.11 cuning from outside known geographical array. Marine Biodiversity st 1 Dorsal spine height 5.00 Records 3: 6. Guide to Reef Fishes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands 2nd Dorsal spine height Rao, D.V. (2004). 12.77 Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 555pp. rd 3 Dorsal spine height 16.11 Silas, E.G.