 There are around 10 species of fish in this family. They are bottom-dwellers and are usually found in shallow, brackish waters in estuaries,
reefs, bays, and grass flats in
tropical and warm temperate waters around the world. They can survive in oxygen-poor water by
inhaling air into their lung-like air bladders.
Bonefish have a long, thin fusiform body. A fusiform body is rounded and tapered at both ends - like a torpedo. They are silvery-gray with a greenish or bluish back, and they have dark streaks that run between the rows of scales along their sides. Bonefish have a single black dorsal fin and a large, forked black caudal fin. They have a long, cone-shaped snout that they use to poke in the mud and silt for prey like worms, shrimp, fish, crabs, and mollusks.
Bonefish usually travel in loosely formed schools. They
go to the sea to spawn. Young bonefish remain in open ocean waters until they are about two inches in length when they return to inshore shallow, brackish waters.
In North America, the bonefish is found along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It is most plentiful in South Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. The threadfin bonefish is found along the coasts of Mexico and Central America.
World Status Key
 Least Concern  Near Threatened  Vulnerable  Endangered  Critically Endangered  Extinct in Wild  Extinct  Not Enough Data
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist.
Location Key
 Africa  Asia  Australia/Oceania  Europe  North America  South America  NH  Click for More Info  Click for Image
 Arctic Ocean  Atlantic Ocean  Indian Ocean  Pacific Ocean  Southern Ocean
New Hampshire Species |
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North/Central American Species |
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Bonefish - Albula vulpes
Eastern Pacific Bonefish - Albula esuncula
Longjaw Bonefish - `O`io - Albula virgata (Hawaii)
Longjaw Bonefish - Albula argentea (Hawaii)
Shortjaw Bonefish- Albula glossodonta (Hawaii)
Threadfin Bonefish - Albula nemoptera
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Additional Information Resource Key
 Profile  Photos  Video  Audio
Bonefish - Albula vulpes
In the U.S., the bonefish is found off the Florida, California, and Hawaiian coasts. Occasionally they are found further north.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Bonefish - Albula vulpes
Bonefish are commonly found in intertidal flats, mangrove areas, river mouths, and deeper adjacent waters.
Source: Florida Museum of Natural History Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School
Bonefish - Albula vulpes
The bonefish is a popular game fish, but it is rarely eaten.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Threadfin Bonefish - Albula nemoptera
The threadfin bonefish is found in waters off of Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama
Source: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Eastern Pacific Bonefish - Albula esuncula
The eastern pacific bonefish is found in waters from southern California to Ecuador.
Source:Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Japanese Gissu - Pterothrissus gissu
The Japanese gissu is found in waters off the coasts of China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Korean Bonefish - Albula koreana
The Korean bonefish is found in waters off the coasts of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Longfin Bonefish- Pterothrissus belloci
The longfin bonefish is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean coast of Africa from Mauritania south to Namibia.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Longjaw Bonefish - Albula argentea
The longjaw bonefish is found in waters off of Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and the Hawaiian Islands.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Longjaw Bonefish - `O`io - Albula virgata
The longjaw bonefish is found around the Hawaiian Islands where it is known as the `O`io .
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Shortjaw Bonefish - Albula glossodonta
The shortjaw bonefish is also known as the roundjaw bonefish. It is found from Hawaii and French Polynesia to the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean, north to southern Japan and south to Australia.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School
Smallscale Bonefish - Albula oligolepis
The smallscale bonefish is found from the east coast of South Africa to Thailand.
Source: FishBase Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School |
Endangered in US
Threatened in NH 
Endangered in NH 
Introduced