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Ammodytes hexapterus Pallas, 1814

Pacific sand lance
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Ammodytes hexapterus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Ammodytes hexapterus (Pacific sand lance)
Ammodytes hexapterus
Picture by Miller, T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Uranoscopoidei (Sand dwellers) > Ammodytidae (Sand lances)
Etymology: Ammodytes: Greek, ammos = sand + Greek, dytes = anyone that likes immersions, diving (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Pallas.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 275 m (Ref. 58426), usually 30 - 100 m (Ref. 56557). Temperate; 63°N - 32°N, 145°E - 21°W (Ref. 57358)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Arctic, Northwest to Northeast Pacific: Arctic Alaska to the Sea of Japan and Balboa Island, southern California, USA. Western Atlantic: northern Quebec, Canada to North Carolina, USA. The Arctic and Pacific populations may be a separate species, distinct from the Atlantic populations (Ref. 7251).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 11 - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56394); common length : 17.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 56557); max. published weight: 100.00 g (Ref. 56527); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 56557)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 58 - 63; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 28 - 31; Vertebrae: 68 - 72. Resembles A personatus in body shape but distinguished by its numerous dorsal fin rays (58 to 63 against 55 to 59) an vertebrae (68 against 67), and larger eyes. Lateral plicae 144 to 161.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

May occur in large schools near the surface both inshore and offshore, but also buries itself in sand (Ref. 2850). Inshore, found from intertidal to subtidal areas (Ref. 2850). Offshore, found near the surface over deep water (Ref. 2850). Benthic (Ref. 58426). Juveniles and adults feed on zooplankton (Ref. 28499). Utilized dried or salted and frozen; sometimes targeted as a raw material for fishmeal; eaten fried (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous (Ref. 101747).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 0.5 - 8.9, mean 3.4 °C (based on 527 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5156   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00257 (0.00141 - 0.00468), b=3.15 (2.99 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.1   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 3.9 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2-3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (35 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 33.2 [17.7, 66.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.29 [0.16, 0.53] mg/100g; Protein = 18.3 [17.0, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 0.425 [0.202, 0.872] g/100g; Selenium = 15.9 [6.5, 35.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 42.7 [13.4, 141.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.874 [0.593, 1.270] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.