Bonefish spawning occurs year round. Sexual maturity is reached at two years and near ripe females may be as small as 9 inches (25 cm). In the Florida Keys, bonefish spawn in deep water where currents can easily disperse the developing eggs and larvae to other locations. Bonefish are less reproductively active during the hotter summer months, while spawning peaks from November through June. Bonefish possess a leptocephalus larval stage, a reproductive strategy seen elsewhere only amongst the closely related tarpons and eels. The transformation from the transparent, ribbon-like leptocephalus to juvenile bonefish occurs in three distinct stages. Early stage 1 leptocephali lack dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins and are small, usually less than about 30mm. Late in stage 1 the nascent dorsal and anal fins appear and the larvae approaches its maximum size of approximately 63mm. At this length the larvae begins a rapid metamorphosis in which the entire body shrinks for 10-12 days until it reaches half its original length. During this transformation (stage II) the anal and dorsal fins move forward and the snout projects noticeably beyond the mandible. The subsequent appearance of scales, the lateral line, and the onset of an overall appearance of that of a miniature bonefish mark the transformation to a fry (stage III). Pigmentation and crossbands appear at about 4 cm in length, followed by the appearance of longitudinal stripes and the disappearance of the crossbands.