ALBULA ARGENTEA - (FORSTER, 1801)
Picture courtesy of: Alain Daoulas
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Albuliformes (Order) > Albulidae (Family) > Albulinae (Subfamily) > Albula (Genus)
Poisson banane du Pacifique, Pacific bonefish, Banana-fish, Bonefish, Ghost of the flats, Grey ghost, Lady fish, Longjaw bonefish, Sharpjaw bonefish, Silver sharpjaw bonefish, 尖頜北梭魚, 여을멸,
Synonymes
Albula forsteri (Valenciennes, 1847)
Albula neoguinaica (Valenciennes, 1847)
Albula seminuda (Valenciennes, 1847)
Esox argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Esox argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Synodus argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Synodus argenteus (Schneider, 1801)
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Description
Dorsal fin: 17-18; Anal fin 8; Pectoral fin rays: 16-18; Pelvic fin rays: 10; Gill rakers: 7-12 + 10-13 = 17-25; Lateral line scales (pored): 68-74; Scale rows above lateral line: 8-9; Predorsal scales: 17-24; Branchiostegal rays: 12-15; Vertebrae: 71-74. Max. length: 110.0 cm TL. Depth range: 1 - 90 m, usually: 0 - 10 m.
Color
Head and body bright silvery-white with prominent dark longitudinal streaks between the scales rows along the upper body; Snout tip and nostrils black; Posterior caudal fin margin black; Ventral margin of lower caudal fin lobe white; First pelvic ray white; Pectoral and pelvic fin bases slightly yellow; Anal fin white.
Etymology
Albula: from Latin, albus = white + Latin suffix, -ulus = diminutive suffix. Referring to silvery appearance of Albula vulpes.
argentea: from Latin, argentea = of silver. Referring to fine silvery body (“Corpus teres, argenteum”) and/or smooth silvery (“glabra argentea”) opercula.
Original description: Esox argenteus Forster, 1801 - Type locality: Tahiti, Society Islands [or New Zeland].
Distribution
Biology
Seldom found on coral reefs, occasionally in sheltered, shallow lagoons. They are often seen feeding over intertidal sandflats, mudflats and seagrass beds, amongst mangroves, in river mouths and in deeper nearby areas. Feed on a range of bottom-living fishes and invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscs and polychaete worms). They also use their conical snouts to dig up the bottom in search of invertebrates buried in the sediment. Spawning occurs in open waters. Eggs are pelagic. Bonefishes are highly sort after by recreational anglers, although their bony flesh is considered poor eating.
Similar species
Last update: 3, September 2022
Actinopterygii (Gigaclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Teleostei (Subclass) > Albuliformes (Order) > Albulidae (Family) > Albulinae (Subfamily) > Albula (Genus)
Poisson banane du Pacifique, Pacific bonefish, Banana-fish, Bonefish, Ghost of the flats, Grey ghost, Lady fish, Longjaw bonefish, Sharpjaw bonefish, Silver sharpjaw bonefish, 尖頜北梭魚, 여을멸,
Synonymes
Albula forsteri (Valenciennes, 1847)
Albula neoguinaica (Valenciennes, 1847)
Albula seminuda (Valenciennes, 1847)
Esox argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Esox argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Synodus argenteus (Forster, 1801)
Synodus argenteus (Schneider, 1801)
----------------------------
Description
Dorsal fin: 17-18; Anal fin 8; Pectoral fin rays: 16-18; Pelvic fin rays: 10; Gill rakers: 7-12 + 10-13 = 17-25; Lateral line scales (pored): 68-74; Scale rows above lateral line: 8-9; Predorsal scales: 17-24; Branchiostegal rays: 12-15; Vertebrae: 71-74. Max. length: 110.0 cm TL. Depth range: 1 - 90 m, usually: 0 - 10 m.
Color
Head and body bright silvery-white with prominent dark longitudinal streaks between the scales rows along the upper body; Snout tip and nostrils black; Posterior caudal fin margin black; Ventral margin of lower caudal fin lobe white; First pelvic ray white; Pectoral and pelvic fin bases slightly yellow; Anal fin white.
Etymology
Albula: from Latin, albus = white + Latin suffix, -ulus = diminutive suffix. Referring to silvery appearance of Albula vulpes.
argentea: from Latin, argentea = of silver. Referring to fine silvery body (“Corpus teres, argenteum”) and/or smooth silvery (“glabra argentea”) opercula.
Original description: Esox argenteus Forster, 1801 - Type locality: Tahiti, Society Islands [or New Zeland].
Distribution
Eastern Indian Ocean, western Pacific: Indonesia east to Society and Marquesas islands, north to southern Korea and southern Japan, south to New Caledonia.
Biology
Seldom found on coral reefs, occasionally in sheltered, shallow lagoons. They are often seen feeding over intertidal sandflats, mudflats and seagrass beds, amongst mangroves, in river mouths and in deeper nearby areas. Feed on a range of bottom-living fishes and invertebrates (crustaceans, molluscs and polychaete worms). They also use their conical snouts to dig up the bottom in search of invertebrates buried in the sediment. Spawning occurs in open waters. Eggs are pelagic. Bonefishes are highly sort after by recreational anglers, although their bony flesh is considered poor eating.
Similar species
- Albula glossodonta (Forsskål, 1775) - Reported from New Caledonia.
- Albula oligolepis (Hidaka, Iwatsuki & Randall, 2008) - Reported from Indo-West Pacific: South Africa, East Africa, Socotra and Réunion (western Mascarenes) east to western Thailand and southeastern Australia.
- Albula virgata (Jordan & Jordan, 1922) - Reported from Hawaiian Islands.
- Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) - Reported from Western Atlantic: southern Florida (U.S.A.) and Bahamas south to Trinidad and Tobago, including western and southern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
- Sillago ciliata (Cuvier, 1829) - Reported from New Caledonia.