Author: Linnaeus, 1758

Ammodytes tobianus Linnaeus, 1758

Diagnosis: plicae 120-138. Dorsal rays 49-58; anal rays 24-32. Scales present in the midline anterior to dorsal fin and over the musculature at base of caudal fin; belly scales in tight chevrons. Vertebrae 60-68. Colour: back typically sandy brown. Size: rarely over 20 cm SL.

Habitat: inshore waters, especially sandy bays and beaches, including the inter-tidal zone and estuaries; rarely offshore. Alternates between Iying buried in the sandy substrate and swimming in schools in the water mass. Food: zooplankton and some large diatoms. Reproduction: exists as two distinct but often sympatric groups spawning in spring (February-April) and autumn (September to November).

Distribution: eastern North Atlantic from eastern Murman (69° N) to Spain (36° N), including south and west coasts of Iceland, and most of the Baltic. In the Mediterranean, recorded from the Balearic Is.

Eggs, larvae and young stages: McIntosh & Masterman, 1897: 306, pl. III (fig. 15), XII (fig. 6 9) | Ehrenbaum, 1904: pl. VII; 1909: 300, fig. 107a (as A. Ianceolatus) | Corbin & Vati, 1949: 298, pl. II (fig. 1) | Einarsson, 1951:1-75; 1955: 1-7, pl. | Thomopoulos, 1954b: 112-120
| Macer, 1967: 3, 5, fig. 7a-d.
Otoliths (sagitta): Frost, 1928a: 454, pl. XVII (fig. 11) | Kändler, 1941: 96, fig. 17-18.

Subspecies

The spawning groups differ in mean vertebral number (autumn higher than spring), otolith structure, and probably habitat, but have not been given subspecific status.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Perciformes
Suborder Percoidei
Family Ammodytidae
Genus Ammodytes
Species Ammodytes tobianus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Ammodytes tobianus Linnaeus, 1758

Scientific synonyms and common names

Ammodytes tobianus Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms:

Ammodytes Tobianus Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. X: 247 ('Habitat in Europae Oceano').
Ammodytes alliciens Lacepède, 1800, Hist. nat. Poissons, 2: 274, pl. 8 (fig. 1) (from European localities).
Ammodytes tobianus: Le Sauvage, 1824: 141 Günther, 1862: 385 Moreau, 1881: 218, fig. 172 Day, 1882: 331, pl. 92 Smitt, 1895: 574, fig. 137 Raitt, 1934: 365 et seq. Ehrenbaum, 1936: 89, fig. 70 Kandler, 1941: 77 et seq. Andriashev, 1954: 317 Lozano Rey, 1960: 262, fig. 103 Wheeler, 1969: 376, fig.
Ammodytes lancea Cuvier, 1829, Règne animal, ed. Il, 2: 328.
Ammodytes lancea: Yarrell, 1836, 2: 322; 1859, 1: 94 Duncker & Mohr, 1939: 16 Jensen, 1941: 6 et seq. Poll, 1947: 268 Einarsson, 1951: 1-75 Albuquerque, 1956: 833 Duncker, 1960: 247 Andersson, 1968: pl. 33.

Common names:

kleiner Sandaal [De]
kysttobis [Da]
lanzon voladores [Es]
lesser sand-eels [En]
sandgrevling [No]
småsil [No]
smooth sand-eel [En]
équille [Fr]
zandspiering [Ne]

Albuquerque, R. M. 1954-1956. Peixes de Portugal e ilhas adjacentes. Chavas para a sua determinação. Port. Acta biol., ser. B,5:xvi+1167 p., 445 fig.

Anderson, W. W.; Gehringer, J.W.; Berry, F. H. 1966. Family Synodontidae. In. Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Mem. Sears Found. mar. Res., I (5): 31-102.

Andriashev, A. P. 1954. Ryby severnykh morei SSSR. Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR. Moskwa-Leningrad. (English trans. 1964, Jerusalem, IPST, 617 p., 300 fig.)

Corbin, P. G.; Vati, V. 1949. The post-larval sand-eels (Ammodytidae) of the Celtic Sea and Plymouth area. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K, 28: 287-312.

Cuvier, G. 1829. Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée. Nouvelle édition, Paris, 2 :122-406 [March 1829].

Day, F. 1880-1884. The Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland. London-Edinburgh, 2 vol., cxii+336 p., 5+7 fig., 92 pl. and 388 p., 87 pl. 1880:1(1):1-64, pl. I-XXVII; 1881: 1(2) (3): 65-240, pl. XXVIII-LXVIII; 1882: 1(4): 241-336, pl. LXIX-XCII; 2 (5) :1-96, pl. XCIII-CXVI; 1883: 2 (6): 97-176, pl. CXVII-CXXXII; 2 (7) :177-272, pl. CXXXIII-CXLVIII; 1884: 2 (8): 273-368, pl. CXLIX-CLXXIX.

Duncker, G.; Ladiges, W. 1960. Die Fische der Nordmark. Abh. naturw. Ver., Hamburg, N.F., 3, suppl. :1-432, 145 fig.J I map.

Duncker, G.; Mohr, E. W. 1939. Revision der Ammodytidae. Mitt. zooL Mus., Berlin, 24 (1) : 8-31.

Ehrenbaum, E. 1904. Eier und Larven von Fischen der deutschen Bucht, III. Fische mit festsitzenden Eiern. Wiss. Meeresunters. Abt. Kiel und Abt. Helgoland (n.s.), 6 (2): 127-200, pl. III-XVI.

Ehrenbaum, E. 1905-1909. Eier und Larven von Fischen der Nordischen Planktons, Teil I, 1905, 4: iv+I l-I 216+iii, fig. 1-82; Teil II, 1909,10: I 217-I 413, fig. 83-147.

Ehrenbaum, E. 1936. Naturgeschichte und wirtschaftliche Bedeutung der Seefische Nordeuropas, in Handbuch der Seefischerei N. Eur., 2: x+337 p., 276 fig., 2 tabl., 26 pl.

Einarsson, H. 1951. The post-larval stages of sand-eels (Ammodytidae) in Faroe, Iceland and W. Greenland waters. Acta Natur. Islandka, 1(7) :1-75.

Einarsson, H. 1955. On the post-larval stages of Ammodytes lancea Cuvier. Acta. Natur. Islandica, 2 (1): pp. 1-7, pl. I.

Frost, G. A. 1928a. A comparative study of the otoliths of the Neopterygian Fishes (continued). Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (10)1(4): 451-456, pl. XVII.

Gunther, A. 1862. Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. 4. Catalogue of the Acanthopterygii Pharyngognathi and Anacanthini in the collection of the British Museum. London, xxi+534 p.

Kändler, R. 1941. Untersuchungen über Fortpflanzung, Wachstum und Variabilität der Arten des Sandaals in Ost- und Nordsee, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Saisonrassen von Ammodytes tobianus L. Kiel Meeresforsch., 5 (1): 45-145.

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae, ed. X, vol. 1, 824 p. Nantes & Pisces: 230-338. (Reprint, 1956, London.)

Lozano y Rey, L. 1960. Peces fisodistos. Tercera parte. Subseries Toracicos (Ordenes Equeneiformes y Gobiformes), Pediculados y Asimetricos. Mems R. Acad. Cienc. exact. fis. nat. Madr., ser.: Cienc. nat., 14: 613 p., 173 fig., 7 pl.

Macer, C. T. 1967. Ammodytidae. ICES, Fiches d'identification des Ïufs et larves de poissons. No. 2.

Maclntosh, W. C.; Masterman, A. T. 1897. The life histories of the British marine food fishes, London: xv+516 p., fig., 20 pl.

Moreau, E. 1881-1891. Histoire naturelle des poissons de la France, Paris, I, 1881: I-VII+ 1-480, fig. 1-82; II, 1881:1-572, fig. 83-145; III, 1881:1-697, fig. 146-220; Suppl., 1891: 1-144, fig. 221-227.

Poll, M. 1947. Poissons marins in Faune de Belgique. Bruxelles, 452 p., 267 fig., 2 pl., 2 maps n. num. (inset).

Raitt, D. S. 1934. A preliminary account of the Sandeels of Scottish waters. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer, 9: 365-372.

Thomopoulos, A. 1954b. Sur l'Ïuf d'équille (Ammodytes tobianus L.). Bull. Soc. zool. Fr., 7g: 112-120.

Wheeler, A. 1969. The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe. Macmillan, London, Melbourne and Toronto: i-xvii+1-163, 5+177 fig., +392 fig. (princ. sp.)+92 n. num. fig., 16 pl., maps.

Yarrell, W. 1836-1839. A History of British fishes, illustrated by nearly 400 wood-cuts, in two volumes, London, 1836,1: xxxvii+408 p., 2: 472 p., fig. n. num.; 1839, supplement: vi+48 p., fig. (2nd ed., 1841, with suppl.; 3rd ed., 1859, additional species by J. Richardson, 1: xxxviii+675 p., 2: 670 p., 522 fig.).

Fries, B. F.; Ekström, C. U.; Sundevall, C. J. 1893-1895. A History of Scandinavian Fishes, rev. and compl. by F. A. Smitt, Stockholm & Paris, I, 1893 :1-566+viii, fig. 1-134; II, 1895: 567-1240, fig. 135-380; Atlas, Pt. I, 1893, pl. I-XXVII; Pt. II, 1895, pl. XXVII A-LIII.

Le Sauvage, E. 1824. Note sur une espèce nouvelle du genre Ammodyte. Bull. Soc. philomath. Paris: 140-141.

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