The lunar fusilier was first formally described in 1830 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with the type locality given as New Ireland.

[4] The specific name lunaris means "of the moon", a name Cuvier attributed to Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg, the collector of the type), Cuvier being of the opinion that Ehrenberg gave it that name because of the row of scales on the neck which was in a crescent shape.

In the Pacific its range extends east to the Marshall Islands and Fiji, north to southern Japan and south to off northwestern Australia and New Caledonia.

It is found at depths down to 60 m (200 ft)[1] in inshore waters, largely near coral reefs with a preference for the seaward slopes and in lagoons.

[2] Lunar fusiliers aggregate in large schools in midwater along the upper edges of steep slopes and in the vicinity of patch reefs.

This species is vulnerable to overfishing and has declined in some areas, but in many parts of its range it remains common.