Albula (fish)

Albula Temporal range: 94.3–0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Cretaceous to present
Bonefish (A. vulpes)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Albuliformes
Family:	Albulidae
Subfamily:	Albulinae
Genus:	Albula Gronow 1763 ex Scopoli 1777 non Osbeck 1765 non Bloch & Schneider 1801 non Catesby 1771
Synonyms
AtopichthysGarman 1899 ButyrinusCommerson ex Lacépède 1803 DixoninaFowler 1911 Albula (Dixonina) (Fowler 1911) EsunculusKaup 1856 GlossodontaCuvier 1815 GlossodusAgassiz 1828 ex Spix & Agassiz 1829 non Costa 1853 non McCoy 1848 MetalbulaFrizzell 1965 PisodusOwen 1841 VulpisCatesby 1771 ConorynchusNozemann 1758 ex Gill 1861 non Bleeker 1863 non Motschousky 1860

Albula is an ancient genus of fish belonging to the family Albulidae. Members of this genus inhabit warm coastal waters worldwide. ^[1]

This genus contains many of the species popularly referred to as bonefish, which are vital components of both subsistence fisheries and sport fishing industries worldwide; this, in conjunction with destruction of breeding habitat, has led to population declines in many species. ^[2]

Taxonomy

Bonefish were once believed to be a single species with a global distribution; however, 11 distinct species have since been identified. There are three identified species in the Atlantic and eight in the Pacific. ^[3] All species are morphologically indistinguishable from one another and can only be reliably distinguished with genetic evidence, but all of them diverged from one another between 4 and 20 million years ago. ^{[4] [5]}

The oldest fossils belonging to this genus are from the Late Cretaceous of Alabama and Uzbekistan. ^[6]

Extant species

The 11 currently recognized living species in this genus are: ^[7]

• Albula argentea (Forster 1801) (silver sharpjaw bonefish)
• Albula esuncula (Garman 1899) (Eastern Pacific bonefish)
• Albula gilberti Pfeiler, van der Heiden, Ruboyianes & Watts, 2011 ^[8] (Cortez bonefish)
• Albula glossodonta (Forsskål, 1775) (Roundjaw/shortjaw bonefish)
• Albula goreensis Valenciennes, 1847 (West African bonefish)
• Albula koreana Kwun & Kim, 2011 ^[9] (Korean bonefish)
• Albula nemoptera (Fowler, 1911) (Threadfin bonefish)
• Albula oligolepis Hidaka, Iwatsuki & Randall, 2008 ^[10] (Smallscale bonefish)
• Albula pacifica (Beebe, 1942) ^[11] (Pacific shafted bonefish)
• Albula virgata Jordan & Jordan, 1922 (Longjaw bonefish)
• Albula vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) (bonefish)

Fossil species

• † Albula bartonensis Schedl 1933
• † Albula bashiana (Frizzell 1965) [Metalbula bashianaFrizzell 1965]
• † Albula campaniana Nolf & Stringer 1996
• † Albula dunklei Applegate 1970
• † Albula eppsi White & Frost 1931
• † Albula oweni (Agassiz 1844) [Pisodus oweniiAgassiz 1844; Pisodus oweniiAgassiz 1844]

References

1. "Albula vulpes, Bonefish: fisheries, gamefish, bait". www.fishbase.se. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
2. Filous, Alexander; Lennox, Robert J.; Coleman, Richard R.; Friedlander, Alan M.; Clua, Eric E. G.; Danylchuk, Andy J. (August 2019). "Life‐history characteristics of an exploited bonefish Albula glossodonta population in a remote South Pacific atoll" . Journal of Fish Biology. 95 (2): 562–574. doi:10.1111/jfb.14057. ISSN   0022-1112. PMID   31119738. S2CID   162180207.
3. Suescun, Alex. "All About Bonefish". saltwatersportsman.com. Salt Water Sportsman. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
4. Adams, A.; Guindon, K.; Horodysky, A.; MacDonald, T.; McBride, R.; Shenker, J.; Ward, R. (2012). "Albula koreana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012: e.T199659A2608983. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T199659A2608983.en . Retrieved 21 April 2023.
5. Colborn, Jeff; Crabtree, Roy E.; Shaklee, James B.; Pfeiler, Edward; Bowen, Brian W. (2001). "The Evolutionary Enigma of Bonefishes (Albula SPP.): Cryptic Species and Ancient Separations in a Globally Distributed Shorefish" . Evolution. 55 (4): 807–820. doi:10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[0807:TEEOBA]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0014-3820. PMID   11392398.
6. "Fossilworks: Albula". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
7. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Albula". FishBase . December 2012 version.
8. Pfeiler, E., Van Der Heiden, A.M., Ruboyianes, R.S., & Watts, T. (2011). Albula gilberti, a new species of bone fish (Albuliformes: Albulidae) from the eastern Pacific, and a description of adults of the parapatric A. esuncula. Zootaxa 3088: 1-14.
9. Kwun, H.J. & Kim, J.K. (2011): A new species of bonefish, Albula koreana (Albuliformes: Albulidae) from Korea and Taiwan. Zootaxa, 2903: 57–63.
10. Hidaka, Iwatsuki & Randall (2008). "A review of the Indo-Pacific bonefishes of the Albula argentea complex, with a description of a new species". Ichthyological Research. 55 (1): 53–64. doi:10.1007/s10228-007-0010-5. S2CID   1129833.
11. Pfeiler, E., 2008. Resurrection of the name Albula pacifica (Beebe, 1942) for the shafted bonefish (Albuliformes: Albulidae) from the eastern Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56(2):839-844.