Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Description
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).
Common Names
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Albuliformes
Family: Albulidae
Genus: Albula
Species: Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Climate Zone
Location
- 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.
Biology
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).
Habitat
brackish
Conservation Status
Near Threatened
Threat to Humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)