The great sand eel (''Hyperoplus lanceolatus'') is the largest species of

sand eel Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of fish. While they are not true eels, they are eel-like in their appearance and can grow up to in length. Many species are found off the western coasts of Europe ...

. The maximum size is .

Description

The great sand eel has an elongated body, with a rounded cross section. It has a long, pointed

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

, and a protruding lower

jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...

. Its upper jaw, however, is not protrusible, and this species is unable to form a tube with its mouth. A monocle "tooth-shaped" structure can be found at the front of the

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly sep ...

. The scales on the body cannot form a chevron pattern. The skin ridge running the length of the sides of the body, spread as far as one-third of the base of the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

. Low and long set dorsal fins consist of 52 to 61 rays. The anal fin is about half the size of the dorsal fin, and taller. The pectoral fins are diminutive; the pelvic fins are absent. Color ranges from a lime color on the back and upper sides to the bright silver on the lower sides and the belly. Also, a specific black smudge occurs between the eyes and the

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, Rostrum (anatomy), rostrum, beak or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the n ...

, which is about the same size as the diameter of the eye. The great sand eel can be distinguished from the

lesser sand eel The lesser sand eel or sand lance (''Ammodytes tobianus'') is a species of fish in the sand lance family Ammodytidae. It is an elongated cylindrical fish which may be up to long. Description The body of the lesser sand eel has an elongated sh ...

because the former's long dorsal fin is located posterior to the pectoral fins. Corbin's sand eel (''Hyperoplus immaculatus'') is very similar to the greater sand eel in the way that it lacks a protrusible upper jaw and its similar size. However, it can be distinguished by the lack of the black spot on the snout, but it does have a black chin. Its dorsal fin has 59 to 62 rays. The overall color is darker than the other sand eels, it is found offshore, and tends to be found more on the western side of the United Kingdom

Biology

Breeding occurs between March and August. It feeds on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

, fish larvae, and a vast range of crustaceans.

Distribution and habitat

The great sand eel is native to the eastern North Atlantic from

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

(70°N) and

Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...

(75°N) southwards to Portugal (38°N) including Iceland and the Baltic Sea. It has not been recorded from the Mediterranean Sea or the Barents Sea. It is to be found from the low water mark down to over , typically over clean and sandy substrates.

Ecology

Sand eels form an important part of the diet of many sea birds. Excessive fishing of sand eels on an industrial scale in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

has been linked to a decline in the breeding success of kittiwakes,

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

s, and shags.

References

External links

Pictures of the Greater Sand-eel

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1351670 great sand eel Fish of the North Sea Fish of the Baltic Sea great sand eel