A M M O D Y T E S. 



Sand-Lance ' 



Generic Character. 



Corpus gracile, teretiusculum, pohiedrum, ehnigatuni, squamls vix consplnus. 

 Labium snperiits duplkutiun ; mundibnla hifcrior caiguxtu, ucumiimtd. 

 Mernhrana branchiostega septem-rudiata. I'inna durmlis corporc pene 

 ffquulia, radiis sii/tp/icibus Jlcxilibus. 



Typus Genericus Ammodi/tes Tohianm. Linn. 



Body slender, roundish, many-sided, witli minute scales. Upper lip 



doubled; lower jaw narrow pointed. Gill memhrane seven-rayed. 



Dorsal tin nearly as long as the body, with simple flexible rays. 



Generic Type Sand-Lance. Pennant. 



A M M O D Y T E S Siculus. 

 Sicilian Sand-Lance. 



A. pinna dorsali sinuata, in medio angustatd, pone annm alfiore. 

 Dorsal fin sinuated, narrowed in the middle and broadest behind. 



Of this genus, hitherto considered as possessing only a unique 

 example, we were fortunate in discovering while in Sicily the new 

 species now figured, and which early in the year visit the coasts 

 near Palermo and Messina in prodigious quantities. There is no 

 striking difference between this and A- Tobianus, excepting the 

 extraordinary shape of the dorsal fin, which is invariably undu- 

 lated and narrowed in the middle. It never grows to a size ex- 

 ceeding the figure, and is usually much less ; while the British 

 species is often found double the length. Like that, also, yi. Sicu- 

 his has the lateral line running close to the dorsal fin ; for the fine 

 line in the middle of the side, as Lacepede has well observed, is 

 that only which connects the muscles. That author likewise 

 mentions, that the jaws in ^4. Tobianus have m.inute teeth, but 

 these I could never discover. The rays of the fins are, pect. l6 ; 



dorsal 56 ; anal 30. 



AMMODYTES Tobianus. 

 Common Sand-Lance — upper figure. 



A. pinna dorsali linear i, aquali. 



Dorsal fin linear, equal. 



Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 1145. Pennant iv. pi. 28. Bloc/i, pi. 73. 2. 



Lacepede, ii. 275. Kleiti Hist. Pisc.fasc. iv.. tub. 12. f. 10. 



This, though a very common fish, has been figured by all au- 

 thors as if the rays were spined and naked at their extremity ; 

 they are, on the contrary, soft and connected. 



It abounds at certain times on many parts of our coasts. 1 ho 

 number of rays stand thus : Pectoral 12 j dorsal o 1 ; i4ual 27. 

 PI. 63. 



