Glossodus Agassiz 1828 ex Spix & Agassiz 1829 non Costa 1853 non McCoy 1848
Metalbula Frizzell 1965
Pisodus Owen 1841
Vulpis Catesby 1771
Conorynchus Nozemann 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]
^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.
^Kwun, H.J. & Kim, J.K. (2011): A new species of bonefish, Albula koreana (Albuliformes: Albulidae) from Korea and Taiwan. Zootaxa, 2903: 57–63.
^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. S2CID1129833.
^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.