The color of bonefish can range from very silver sides and slight darker backs to olive green backs that blend to the silver side. Slight shading on the scales often leads to very soft subtle lines that run the flank of the fish from the gills to the tail. The bases of the pectoral fins are sometimes yellow.

The bonefish can live up to 20 years but reach sexual maturity at merely 2 to 3 years of age (when it is over long). Larvae drift for an average of 53 days, and juveniles often live over open