The ”’Pacific sand lance”’ (”Ammodytes hexapterus”) is a small, [[planktivorous]], saltwater fish found across the North Pacific. This tiny fish is a member of the [[Sand lance|Ammodytidae]] family, or sand lances.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″> 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. p. 259.</ref> The name hails from Greek, with ”ammos” meaning “sand” and ”dytes meaning” “liking to immerse in”.<ref name=”Romero2002″> Romero, P., 2002. An etymological dictionary of taxonomy. Madrid, unpublished.</ref> Like many other sand lances, the Pacific sand lance a [[benthic]] fish that immerses itself in the sand.
The ”’Pacific sand lance”’ (”Ammodytes hexapterus”) is a small, [[planktivorous]], saltwater fish found across the North Pacific. This tiny fish is a member of the [[Sand lance|Ammodytidae]] family, or sand lances.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″> 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. p. 259.</ref> The name hails from Greek, with ”ammos” meaning “sand” and ”dytes meaning” “liking to immerse in”.<ref name=”Romero2002″> Romero, P., 2002. An etymological dictionary of taxonomy. Madrid, unpublished.</ref> Like many other sand lances, the Pacific sand lance a [[benthic]] fish that immerses itself in the sand.
While adult Pacific sand lance usually grow to around 17{{nbsp}}cm, some individuals have been caught and measured to be as large as 30{{nbsp}}cm.<ref name=”Novikov2002″> Novikov, N.P., A.S. Sokolovsky, T.G. Sokolovskaya and Y.M. Yakovlev, 2002. The fishes of Primorye. Vladivostok, Far Eastern State Tech. Fish. Univ., 552 p.</ref> These fish usually weigh up to 100{{nbsp}}g.<ref name=”Fadeev2005″ > Fadeev, N.S., 2005. Guide to biology and fisheries of fishes of the North Pacific Ocean. Vladivostok, TINRO-Center. 366 p.</ref> This species features an [[anguilliform]] body ending at a very pointed snout, which it uses to assist in burrowing into the sediments it inhabits. These body features are accompanied by appendages including an elongated long dorsal fin that lacks spines, forked caudal fin, an elongated anal fin, and two pectoral fins, the pelvic fins are absent. The dorsal fin has between 58 and 63 dorsal fin rays and the anal fin has between 28 and 31 anal fin rays.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″ /> This is important for being able to distinguish these fish from other fish within the Ammodytidae family, as all of these fishes look very similar. Most notably, ”A. personatus” is nearly identical to ”A. hexapterus”, only differentiated by their dorsal and anal fin ray counts.{{cn|date=November 2025}} Like most Ammodytidae, the Pacific sand lance possesses a protrusible mouth, with its upper jaw in particular being very mobile, though their lower jaw projects beyond their upper jaw.<ref name=”Orr2015″> 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. Fishery Bulletin, 113(2).</ref> This mouth is moderately sized, extending from just above the anterior, or frontal, tip of the fish back too, but not aligning with the eye. The Pacific sand lance possesses large eyes and thin, paddle-shaped fins that the it uses for directional orientation and small quick movements. It has small [[cycloid scales]] and an elevated [[lateral line]] on the fish’s back.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″ /> Its back is a metallic black color, which is separated from the white underbelly by a central coloring along its sides that varies from a metallic blue, green, and/or silver.
While adult Pacific sand lance usually grow to around 17{{nbsp}}cm, some individuals have been caught and measured to be as large as 30{{nbsp}}cm.<ref name=”Novikov2002″> Novikov, N.P., A.S. Sokolovsky, T.G. Sokolovskaya and Y.M. Yakovlev, 2002. The fishes of Primorye. Vladivostok, Far Eastern State Tech. Fish. Univ., 552 p.</ref> These fish usually weigh up to 100{{nbsp}}g.<ref name=”Fadeev2005″ > Fadeev, N.S., 2005. Guide to biology and fisheries of fishes of the North Pacific Ocean. Vladivostok, TINRO-Center. 366 p.</ref> This species features an [[anguilliform]] body ending at a very pointed snout, which it uses to assist in burrowing into the sediments it inhabits. These body features are accompanied by appendages including an elongated long dorsal fin that lacks spines, forked caudal fin, an elongated anal fin, and two pectoral fins, the pelvic fins are absent. The dorsal fin has between 58 and 63 dorsal fin rays and the anal fin has between 28 and 31 anal fin rays.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″ /> This is important for being able to distinguish these fish from other fish within the Ammodytidae family, as all of these fishes look very similar. Most notably, ”A. personatus” is nearly identical to ”A. hexapterus”, only differentiated by their dorsal and anal fin ray counts.{{cn|date=November 2025}} Like most Ammodytidae, the Pacific sand lance possesses a protrusible mouth, with its upper jaw in particular being very mobile, though their lower jaw projects beyond their upper jaw.<ref name=”Orr2015″> 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. Fishery Bulletin, 113(2).</ref> This mouth is moderately sized, extending from just above the anterior, or frontal, tip of the fish back too, but not aligning with the eye. The Pacific sand lance possesses large eyes and thin, paddle-shaped fins that the it uses for directional orientation and small quick movements. It has small [[cycloid scales]] and an elevated [[lateral line]] on the fish’s back.<ref name=”Eschmeyer1983″ /> Its back is a metallic black color, which is separated from the white underbelly by a central coloring along its sides that varies from a metallic blue, green, and/or silver.
