Bonefish (Albula vulpes)

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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. [back to top]

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