''Albula argentea'', the silver sharpjaw bonefish, 'ō'io, or simply sharpjaw bonefish, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

bonefish The bonefish (''Albula vulpes'') is the type species of the Bonefishes, 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 differ ...

found in the tropical Western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The name 'ō'io may refer to other species of bonefish in Hawaii, such as the longjaw bonefish ''Albula virgata'''','' and the roundjaw/shortjaw bonefish '' Albula glossodonta''.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

Bonefish were once believed to be a single species with a global distribution, but 11 different species have since been identified. '' Albula virgata'' (the longjaw bonefish) and ''

Albula oligolepis ''Albula oligolepis'' is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is ...

'' (the smallscale bonefish) were formerly assigned to this species, but are now recognized as distinct.Hidaka, K., Y. Iwatsuki and J.E. Randall, 2008. A review of the Indo-Pacific bonefishes of the Albula argentea complex, with a description of a new species. Ichthyol. Res. 55:53-64. ''A. virgata'' is only found around the Hawaiian islands, while ''A. argentea'' has a wider distribution.

Description

Sharpjaw bonefish grow up to . Like other bonefish, they have an elongated, silvery white body, with large scales.

References

Albuliformes Fish of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster Fish described in 1801 {{albuliformes-stub