Common Bonefish

The bonefish weighs up to 17 lb (7.7 kg) and measures up to 31 in (79 cm) long. The color of bonefish can range from very silver sides and slight darker backs to olive green backs that blend to the silver side. Slight shading on the scales often leads to very soft subtle lines that run the flank of the fish from the gills to the tail. The bases of the pectoral fins are sometimes yellow. The bonefish can live up to 20 years but reach sexual maturity at merely 2 to 3 years of age (when it is over 17 in (43 cm) long). Larvae drift for an average of 53 days, and juveniles often live over open sandy bottoms.

The bonefish inhabits warm subtropical and tropical waters of the western Atlantic, and is found off the coasts of southern Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, and around the West Indies.

An amphidromous species, the bonefish lives in inshore tropical waters and moves onto shallow mudflats or sand flats to feed with the incoming tide. Adults and juveniles may shoal together, and mature adults may be found singly or in pairs. The bonefish feeds on benthic worms, fry, crustaceans, and mollusks and may be seen around edges, drop-offs, and clean, healthy seagrass beds, as these locations yield abundant small prey such as crabs and shrimp. It may follow stingrays to catch the small animals they scare out of the substrate. In the Los Roques archipelago, bonefish primarily hunt glass minnows, however this behavior is atypical.

A typical Bahamian recipe is a split fish seasoned with pepper sauce and salt, then baked.