Eastern Pacific Bonefish

Eastern Pacific Bonefish, Albula esuncula

Eastern Pacific Bonefish, Albula esuncula. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2013. Length: 24 cm (9.5 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Eastern Pacific Bonefish, Albula esuncula, is a member of the Bonefish or Albulidae Family, and in Mexico is known as macabí del Pacifico oriental. Globally, there are six species in the genus Albula, of which four are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and three in the Pacific Ocean.

The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is a relatively small fish with long slender silvery and slightly compressed body. Their anal and pectoral fins are orange. They have a conical head with a small short and inferior mouth that does not reach the eyes and a pointed overhanging snout. Their anal fin has 8 rays and is set under the rear of their dorsal fin; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their dorsal fin has 17 to 18 rays and is located mid-body; their pectoral fins have 18 to 20 rays and are low on the body; and their pelvic fins have 10 rays and are short and low on the body and well behind the pectoral fins. Their fins do not have spines and their anal and dorsal fins do not have an extended filamentous ray (a key to identification). They have 15 to 20 gill rakers. They are covered with modest-sized and smooth scales. Their lateral line is straight and runs the entire length of the body.

The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is a demersal schooling fish found that is found in and around sandy substrate; they will sometimes come into very shallow water on sand flats at depths of less than 15 m (50 feet). They reach a maximum length of 70 cm (28 inches). They are believed to be a pelagic species that travels and feeds in schools. The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, south to Guatemala along the coast of the mainland.

The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is similar to the Bonefish, Albula vulpes (resides in the Atlantic Ocean), the Machete, Elops saurus (pelvic fins in front of dorsal fins), the Milkfish, Chanos chanos (large eyes; short terminal mouth; strong lateral line; short pointed dorsal fin), and the Pacific Shafted Bonefish, Albula pacifica (prolonged filamentous terminal anal and dorsal fin rays). The Eastern Pacific Bonefish is also identical in visual appearance to the Cortez Bonefish, Albula gilberti, and thus requiring a DNA analysis to separate these two species. The Cortez Bonefish is also smaller and believed to be a more coastal species, as it is absent from waters south of Mazatlán.

From a conservation perspective the Eastern Pacific Bonefish is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable widely distributed populations. They are not considered to be a valuable food fish due to its small size and the numerous fine bones omnipresent in its flesh and normally a “catch and release”.