The bonefish (''Albula vulpes'') is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the bonefish family (Albulidae), the only family in order Albuliformes.

Taxonomy

Bonefish were once believed to be a single species with a global distribution, however 9 different species have since been identified. There are three identified species in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific. ''Albula vulpes'' is the largest and most widespread of the Atlantic species.

Distribution

This species inhabits warm subtropical and tropical waters of the western Atlantic, and is found off the coasts of southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

Description

The bonefish weighs up to and measures up to long. The color of bonefish can range from very silver sides and slight darker backs to olive green backs that blend to the silver side. Slight shading on the scales often leads to very soft subtle lines that run the flank of the fish from the gills to the tail. The bases of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s are sometimes yellow. Bonefish can live up to 20 years and reach sexual maturity at 2–3 years of age (when they're over 17 inches (43.18 cm) long). Larvae drift for an average of 53 days. Juveniles often live over open sandy bottoms.

Behavior

amphidromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

species, it lives in inshore tropical waters and moves onto shallow

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s or sand flats to feed with the incoming

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. Adults and juveniles may shoal together, and mature adults may be found singly or in pairs. The bonefish feeds on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s, fry,

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s, and

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s. Ledges, drop-offs, and clean, healthy

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

beds yield abundant small prey such as

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

s and

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

. It may follow

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...

s to catch the small animals they root from the substrate. In the

Los Roques archipelago The Los Roques Archipelago (Spanish: ''Archipiélago de Los Roques'') is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of . The archipelago is located directly north of the port ...

bonefish primarily hunt glass minnows, however this behavior is atypical.

Fishing and cuisine

Bonefish are considered one of the premier fly and light tackle game fish. Fishing for bonefish, called bonefishing, is a popular sport in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, Puerto Rico, southern

Cargados Carajos Saint Brandon (), also known as the Cargados Carajos Shoals, is a southwest Indian Ocean archipelago of sand banks, shoals and islets belonging to the Republic of Mauritius. It lies about northeast of the island of Mauritius. It consists of fiv ...

. Since bonefish live in shallow inshore water, fishing may be done by wading or from a shallow-draft boat. Bonefishing is mostly done for the sport, so the fish are released, but they may also be eaten in less developed areas. A typical Bahamian recipe is a split fish seasoned with

pepper sauce The following is a list of pepper sauces. Pepper sauce may refer generally to sauces made with black pepper, Sichuan pepper, or chili peppers, or to the following dishes: * Bajan pepper sauce *Chili sauce *Peppercorn sauce * Harrisa *Sauce poivrade ...

and salt, then baked.Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, ''Frommer's Bahamas'', 20th edition, 2012, , p. 27. Bonefish are notoriously wary and great skill must be taken both in approach and presentation when fishing for them. English-speaking fishermen often refer to them as "grey ghosts."

References

External links

* Adams, A., et al. 2012
''Albula vulpes''.
In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Downloaded on 2 June 2013.
Fly Fishing for Bonefish: Crazy Charlie Fly Pattern
* Chico Fernandez, ''Fly-fishing for Bonefish'', 2004, .
Bonefish and Tarpon Conservation Research

Hawaiian Bonefish Tagging Program
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2014405 Albuliformes Fish of the Caribbean Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fish of Aruba Marine fish of Nicaragua