Overview
The dorsal fin consists of 17 19 soft rays. The anal fin has 8 9 soft rays, the ventral fins have 9, and the pectoral fins have 15 17. There are 65 73 scales along the lateral line—none on the head. The sides and belly of the fish are bright silver. Parts of the fins and the snout may show a yellowish or dusky color. Bonefish are basically schooling fish. The larger ones tend to form smaller schools or groups.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Albulidae
- Genus
- Albula
- Species
- vulpes
Habitat
Central America, Belize, Bahamas, Florida, Christmas Island, Hawaii, South America, Australia
Diet
They feed on crabs, shrimp, clams, sea worms, sea urchins, and small fish that inhabit the sandy flats and intertidal areas.
Behavior
Bonefish are commonly found on inshore flats and also on mudflats during the incoming tide. They move to shallow drops where food can be found easily.
Fishing
They are powerful and run very fast and hard when hooked. Fishing methods include plug, fly or spin casting from a skiff or while wading on tidal flats, using shrimp, crabs or similar baits. Most bonefish are caught in depths from 6 inches to 10 ft (15 cm to 3 m). As one might expect from the name, the bonefish has an abundance of bones (some of which are quite tiny), for which reason this fish is less than popular as table fare.
Conservation Status
Listed as Near Threatened by IUCN.