174 THE COMMERCIAL SEA FISHES OF 



A. Vomer armed anteriorly with a pair of tooth-like 

 projections. 



I. Larger Sand-launce (Ammodytes lanceolatus}. 



Names. Coast of Down in Ireland, termed snedden. 

 Homers, or horn-eels, Edinburgh ; greater sand-eel, York- 

 shire ; great lant, Cornwall. At St. Ives the fishermen term 

 the adult snake-bait, and the young naked-bait ; used to be 

 termed smoulds in Norfolk. Yarrell suggested that the 

 larger sand-eel only should be termed sand-eel, and the 

 lesser one sand-launce. Le lancon, French. 



B. vii., D. 53-58, A. 28-31, L. i, 190-203, Caec. pyl. i, 

 Vert. 67. 



Length of head 4^ to 5^ ; height of body 10 to 12 in 

 the total length. Eye. Situated a little before the middle of 

 the entire length of the head, 2 to 2^ diameters from the 

 end of the snout, and i to 2 apart ; lower jaw the longer, 

 and having a soft prolongation in front ; premaxillaries not 

 protrusible ; the posterior extremity of the upper jaw does 

 not reach to beneath the eye. Teeth. Absent from the jaws, 

 tongue, and palate ; the head of the vomer bifurcates into 

 two tooth-like processes which project downwards and 

 slightly outwards. Fins. Dorsal low, and with an even 

 upper edge ; it commences on a line a little posterior to the 

 hind edge of the pectoral fin, which latter is short, being 

 only equal to about 3^ or 4 in the length of the head. 

 Lateral-line. Commences a little behind the head, is con- 

 tinued a short distance below, but parallel with the dorsal 

 profile, and from it 190 to 203 folds of skin pass obliquely 

 downwards. A second lateral-line runs from the lower 

 part of the base of the pectoral fin along the body a short 

 distance above the base of the anal fin. A straight line, 

 due to muscular insertions, passes from the head to the 



