Bonefish (Albula vulpes)
| Description: silvery color with bluish or greenish
back; slender; round body; snout long, conical, aiming downward and
overhanging lower jaw;
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 record 15 lbs., 6 ozs. |