Bonefish

Family Albulidae, BONEFISHES
Albula vulpes

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.

*Florida Record: 15 lbs., 6 ozs.

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.

*The Florida records quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark.