226 



The Auicrican Angler. 



presence of a flat bone on the upper 

 side of the head; an arch of bone in 

 front of the shoulder ; absence of bones 

 in the ear-formation, and the bones in 

 the mouth and in front of the oesopha- 

 g-us are not shaped like a scythe as in 

 the fishes previously described. 



The true bonefish {Alluila vulpes) is 

 the only representative of the family 

 Albnlidtv. Its range is stated in the 

 text-books to be from Cape Cod south- 

 ward to the warm seas, but it has 

 occurred to me that the confusion 

 arising from a similarity of popular 

 names, alluded to above, might possibly 

 have led to error as to range of habitat 

 of this fish. I have examined a speci- 

 men of the big-eyed herring, wrongly 

 called ladyfish, that was caught on a 

 hook in the waters of Princess Bay, 

 Staten Island ; but in my familiar per- 

 sonal and editorial intercourse, extend- 

 ing over a quarter of a centur}^, with 

 the salt-water fishermen of New York 

 city, ten thousand of whom go a-fishing 

 every week of the season, I have never 

 heard of A. vulpcs being taken by any 

 of these rodsters. But negative proof 

 is no proof at all, even when reinforced 

 by the fa6l that no angling record 

 exists of the true bonefish being caught 

 on the hook in any waters north of 

 Biscayne Bay, Florida, a circumstance 

 which is unusual when we consider that 

 the east and west coasts of that state 

 are annually visited by thousands of 

 eager, intelligent and observant anglers, 

 a few only of whom have caiight this 

 fish, and only in Biscayne Bay. They 

 at once classed it as the fiercest fighter 

 for its size in southern seas, and in this 

 connedlion it must be noted that the 

 presence of game qualities in a fish is 

 an assurance that its habits, habitat 

 and physical markings will be studied 

 by the angler who catches it, particu- 



