Bonefish
(Albula vulpes)
Family Albulidae, Bonefishes
Description: silvery color with bluish or greenish back; slender, round body; snout long, conical, aiming downward and overhanging lower jaw; dark streaks between scales on upper half of body and faint crossbands extending down to lateral line; extremities of dorsal and caudal fins shaded with black.
Similar fish: ladyfish, Elops saurus.
Where found: primarily INSHORE fish inhabiting shallows of the Florida Keys; found in shallows often less than 1 foot deep, usually over lush grass flats, occasionally over white sand.
Size: 3 to 5 pounds.
Remarks: travels in loose schools; roots out shrimp, shellfish, crabs, and fish from the bottom; spawns offshore, eggs hatching into ribbon-like larvae that metamorphose into fish-like form at about 2 inches and move inshore.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Marine Resources,
Office of Fisheries Management and Assistance Services
