About Ostorhinchus fasciatus (White, 1790)
Ostorhinchus fasciatus is an ovoid-shaped fish with large eyes, a blunt snout, and a large, oblique mouth that reaches the eye. It has a forked caudal fin, and its body is slightly compressed along the ventral side. Its base body color ranges from white to pinkish grey, fading to silvery white on the posterior portion of the belly. Two dark stripes mark the dorsal half of the body: the first is a broad solid stripe running along each side of the lateral line, from the tip of the snout to the central rays of the caudal fin. The second is a narrower stripe that starts above the eye and extends to the upper part of the caudal peduncle. An incomplete dusky stripe between the two main stripes is frequently present. This species has two dorsal fins: the first dorsal fin has a tiny spine at its front edge, while its second and third spines are much longer. The anal fin sits directly below the posterior dorsal fin. All fins are pinkish-orange; larger individuals have a line of brown spots on the fin membranes of the second dorsal fin and the anal fin. It reaches a maximum total length of 10.3 cm, and typically grows to a standard length of 7 cm.
The native distribution of Ostorhinchus fasciatus covers the Indo-West Pacific. In the west, its range extends from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf south to Mozambique. It stretches eastward across the Indian Ocean into the western Pacific, reaching as far north as Japan and as far south as Sydney, Australia. It has also been present in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea since it was first recorded off Israel in 2009, and is now very common from Egypt to Turkey.
