Bonefish
(Albula vulpes)
General data
The bonefish weighs up to 14 lb (6.4 kg) and measures up to 79 cm (31 in) 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 lead to very soft subtle lines that run the flank of the fish from the gills to the tail. The bases of the pectoral fins 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 long). Larvae drift for an average of 53 days. Juveniles often live over open sandy bottoms.
An amphidromous species, it lives in inshore tropical waters and moves onto shallow mudflats or sand flats to feed with the incoming tide. Adults and juveniles may shoal together, and mature adults may be found singly or in pairs.
The bonefish feeds on benthic worms, fry, crustaceans, and mollusks. Ledges, drop-offs, and clean, healthy seagrass beds yield abundant small prey such as crabs and shrimp. It may follow stingrays to catch the small animals they root from the substrate.
