Ammodytes

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Ammodytes
Ammodytes americanus.jpg
Ammodytes americanus
Tobiasz.JPG
Ammodytes tobianus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Trachiniformes
Family: Ammodytidae
Genus: Ammodytes
Linnaeus, 1758

Ammodytes is a genus of sand lances native to the northern oceans.

Species

There are currently 8 recognized species in this genus:

Related Research Articles

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Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. While they are not true eels, they are eel-like in their appearance and can grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in length. Many species are found off the western coasts of Europe from Spain to Scotland, and in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.

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Ammodytes americanus, also known as American sand lance, American sand eel, and sand launce, is a small fish in the family Ammodytidae. First described by James Ellsworth De Kay in 1842, it is widespread in the western North Atlantic. Like all sand lances, it has a long, thin body with a pointed snout; mature fish typically range from 4 to 6 in in length, though some may reach 7 in (18 cm). Its back is greenish-brown, while its sides and abdomen are silvery. It has a long, low dorsal fin which extends along most of its back, folding into a groove at the fin's base when not in use. Its anal fin is roughly the same height as the dorsal fin, and extends over the posterior third of the fish's body. Its pectoral fins are small, and its caudal fin is forked. Its mouth is large and toothless, with a lower jaw that extends well beyond the upper. It typically travels in large schools, spending most of its time relatively near the water surface. It feeds primarily on plankton, though it is known to take small clams and snails from the sea floor, presumably when plankton is scarce. Towards dusk, schools of A. americanus bury themselves in sand, typically from 1 to 6 in below the sand's surface close to the water's edge; they avoid rocky areas. They do this to avoid being detected by night-hunting species such as bluefish and stripers.

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The smooth sandeel is a species of sand eel in the family Ammodytidae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Orr, J.W.; Wildes, S.; Kai, Y.; Raring, N.; Nakabo, T.; Katugin, O. & Guyon, J. (2015). "Systematics of North Pacific sand lances of the genus Ammodytes based on molecular and morphological evidence, with the description of a new species from Japan" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin. 113 (2): 129–156. doi: 10.7755/fb.113.2.3 .