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Albula vulpes  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Bonefish
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Albula vulpes   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Albula vulpes (Bonefish)
Albula vulpes
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Albuliformes (Bonefishes) > Albulidae (Bonefishes) > Albulinae
Etymology: Albula: Latin, albus = white (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 84 m (Ref. 13608), usually 1 - 15 m (Ref. 9268).   Subtropical, preferred 26°C (Ref. 107945); 45°N - 31°S, 159°W - 35°W (Ref. 55166)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Worldwide in warm seas. Hawaiian species have been verified by electrophoretic analysis (Ref. 5577), hence, Albula vulpes might be further split. Eastern Pacific: California, USA to Peru (Ref. 2850). Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to Florida, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Antilles and Caribbean to Brazil (Ref. 26938). Northwest Atlantic: Canada (Ref. 5951). The West African form is Albula goreensis, Valenciennes, 1846.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 48.8, range 21 - 36 cm
Max length : 104 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); max. published weight: 10.0 kg (Ref. 37955)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-19; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 69 - 74. Branchiostegal rays 12-14 (Ref. 4639). Silvery with dusky fins; base of pectorals yellow (Ref. 3970). Body elongate and fusiform (Ref. 4832). Last ray of dorsal and anal fins not prolonged; head region naked; spot and band absent on head; margin of nasal pore not black (Ref. 13608). Bluntly conical snout extends beyond inferior mouth (Ref. 26938). Pectoral and pelvic axillary scales present; a single long scale on each side of membrane between each ray of dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 4832).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits shallow coastal waters, estuaries and bays, over sand and mud bottoms (Ref. 3237). Often in schools, except large individuals which are solitary (Ref. 7251). Dorsal fin may show above surface (Ref. 42064). More or less pelagic but feeds on benthic worms, crustaceans, and mollusks (Ref. 2850); that are picked from mud and sand bottoms (Ref. 27549). Tolerates oxygen poor water by inhaling air into a lung-like airbladder (Ref. 9710). Flesh is bony and not esteemed (Ref. 9268). One of the most important game fishes worldwide (Ref. 26938).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Spawning occurs in open waters. Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1990. Albulidae. p. 122-124. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris, Vol. 1. (Ref. 4447)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: usually
FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
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Ecology
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Common names
Synonyms
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Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
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Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
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Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishes of Iran | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5007   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01318 (0.00922 - 0.01884), b=2.99 (2.89 - 3.09), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.3 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.3; tm=2; tmax=20).
Prior r = 0.54, 2 SD range = 0.31 - 0.93, log(r) = -0.62, SD log(r) = 0.27, Based on: 3 K, 11 tgen, 2 Fec records
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.