''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 James Ellsworth De Kay (alternatively spelled DeKay or Dekay) (October 12, 1792 – November 21, 1851) was an American zoologist. Biography James De Kay was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1792. When he was two years old, his family moved to New Yor ...

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 in length, though some may reach . Its back is greenish-brown, while its sides and abdomen are silvery. It has a long, low

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

(described as "very delicate") which extends along most of its back, folding into a groove at the fin's base when not in use. Its

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is roughly the same height as the dorsal fin, and extends over the posterior third of the fish's body. Its

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s are small, and its

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is forked. Its mouth is large and toothless, with a lower jaw that extends well beyond the upper. It typically travels in large

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, spending most of its time relatively near the water surface. It feeds primarily on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

, 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 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 The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

and stripers. ''Ammodytes americanus'' is an important prey item for many species of fish, whales and birds. Breeding

roseate tern The roseate tern (''Sterna dougallii'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific ''dougallii'' refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDoug ...

s, a federally

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

in the United States, feed their chicks almost exclusively on the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q695688 Ammodytidae Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish described in 1842 Taxa named by James Ellsworth De Kay