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The bonefishes are a family (Albulidae) of ray-finned fish that are popular as game fish in Mexico(Cancun), Florida, the Bahamas where two bonefish are on their 10 cent coin, and elsewhere. The family is small, with eight species in two genera.

Presently the bonefishes are in their own order: Albuliformes. The spiny eels (Notacanthidae) and halosaurs (Halosauridae) were previously classified in this order, but are now, according to FishBase given their own order, Notacanthiformes.

bonefish, common name for a fish belonging to either of two species of the family Albulidae. Albula vulpes is widespread in warm, shallow marine waters, and Dixonina nemoptera is found only in the West Indies. The bonefish is silvery in color, with a long, deeply forked tail and a single dorsal fin; it has a pointed head covered by a thick, transparent cartilage and a receding mouth filled with numerous small rounded teeth. D. nemoptera is distinguished by two long trailing filaments, one extending from its dorsal fin and one from its anal fin. Also known as ladyfish and banana fish, the bonefish may reach 3.5 ft (107 cm) in length, and 18 lb (8 kg) in weight. It is a bottom dweller of shallow, sandy areas where it feeds on crabs, shrimp, and worms. It is much prized as a game fish, despite the numerous tiny bones that limit its appeal as food. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Clupeiformes, family Albulidae.

Description

Albula

The bonefishes' closest relatives are the tarpons and ladyfishes in the order Elopiformes. Bonefishes are unlike tarpons in that their mouth is under the snout rather than the end of it, and bonefishes lack the tarpons' protruding snout. Like tarpons and ladyfishes, bonefishes can breathe air via a modified swim-bladder and are found in brackish waters. Bonefish larvae are leptocephalic.

The body of the bonefish is silver and slender with a bluish or greenish back. On the upper half there are dark streaks with cross bands connecting to the lateral line. The body is also rounded and has a long downward aiming snout. The dorsal and caudal fins are black. Bonefish vary in adult length from 40–100 cm depending on species. The average size of a bonefish is from 3 to 5 pounds (1–2 kg) with the Florida record being 15 pounds 6 ounces (7.0 kg).

The bonefishes are brackish or saltwater fish typically living in estuaries and travelling out to sea to spawn on a lunar cycle. They feed in the shallow sand and mud flats, on animals that live on the bottom like worms, mollusks, shrimps, and crabs. They use their conical shaped snouts to root out their prey and can often be seen with their tail out of the water. Bonefishes possess crushing teeth in the palate.

Pterothrissus

This genus is like Albula except they are found in deeper waters.

Species

FishBase lists eight species in two genera:

Genus Albula

Albula argentea (Schneider, 1801).

Longjaw bonefish, Albula forsteri Valenciennes, 1847.

Roundjaw bonefish, Albula glossodonta (Forsskål, 1775).

Threadfin bonefish, Albula nemoptera (Fowler, 1911).

Sharpjaw bonefish, Albula neoguinaica Valenciennes, 1847.

Bonefish, Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758).

Genus Pterothrissus