Divefree

Fish

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

A silvery, fork-tailed speedster of the shallows, though along our coast it turns up in surprisingly deep water off Namibia.

Also known as beenvis

Bonefish
Photo: James-LaFontaine · CC BY 4.0
Typical size
Attains about 35 cm
Habitat
Sandy coastal ground, West Africa to Namibia
Depth
About 20 to 250 m

The bonefish is a slim, yellowish-grey fish with pale fins and dusky tips to the tail lobes. It is common off West Africa around Guinea and Senegal, and reaches the southern African coast as far as Sandwich Harbour, just south of Walvis Bay.

Here it lives in deeper water than the famous tropical flats fish, between about 20 and 250 m. Its ribbon-like larvae have been netted off Walvis Bay, hinting at a breeding ground in the region, possibly deeper still. It grows to around 35 cm.