Ammodytes americanus
American Sand Lance
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Ammodytidae (Sand Lances)
Ammodytes
Ammodytes americanus (American Sand Lance)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Number of lateral plicae 106-126, with a mean of 117.4. Best separated from A. dubius by the number of plicae singly or in combination with the number of vertebrae.
Distribution
Northwest Atlantic: southern Delaware north to Labrador.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 0-73 m. Found in: estuaries.
Biology
Found in shallow coastal waters as well as in protected bays and estuaries (Ref. 10198). Occurs in large schools and burrows in the sand at times to a depth of several inches. Feeds primarily on copepods (Ref. 27549).
Max length: 23.5 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders. Oviparous (Ref. 101747).
IUCN Red List Status: N.E. (N.E.). Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of potential interest.
References
Scott, W.B. and M.G. Scott (1988) Atlantic fishes of Canada. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 219:731 p.
Nizinski, M.S., B.B. Collette and B.B. Washington (1990) Separation of two species of sand lances, Ammodytes americanus and A. dubius, in the western North Atlantic. Fish. Bull. 88:241-255.
Meyer, T.L., R.A. Cooper and R.W. Langton (1979) Relative abundance, behavior, and food habits of the American sand lance, Ammodytes americanus, from the Gulf of Maine. Fish. Bull. 77(1):243-253.
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (2006) OBIS-extracted Depth Data. Harvested by E.Agbayani July 2006 at www.iobis.org.
Watson, W. (1996) Ammodytidae: Sandlances. p. 1138-1139. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505p.
Comments On Ammodytes americanus