THE COMMON SAND EEL. 237 



long. D. 56 (first very short) ; P. 13; A. 29; C. 15. In all the characters of 

 form and relative proportion of parts it agrees with the descriptions of Yarrell 

 and Jenyns. In colovr this species is of a dark bluish green, while the A. Lan- 

 cea is of a sandy hue, like the atherine (.1. rresbi/ter), but tinged partially on 

 the back and sides with bluish green. From the mouth of the specimen described 

 I took a small individual of its own species :* Blocli and Couch mentions simi- 

 lar instances. 



" The largest A. Lancca procured at Dundrum was 8 inches long. D. 51 ; P. 

 11; A. 27; C. 14. 



" Dorsal fin commencing ' in a line with the last quarter,' and not above ' the 

 middle ' of the pectoral fins." 



Mr. M'Coy mentions (Annals Nat. Hist., vol. vi. p. 405), " This fish is 

 frequent in the sand at Malahide, County Dublin, in company with the 

 common species." 



The Common Sand Eel, (The Sand-Launce, Yarrell, The small- 

 mouthed Launce, Jenyns,) Ammodijtes Lancea, Cuv., 



Is common around the coast. 



See remarks on this species, incorporated with those on the preceding 

 one. 



Terns and various other aquatic birds prey upon the sand eel, with 

 which they frequently feed their young. Dr. Jas. D. Marshall says it 



" furnishes a favourite food to the ditferent sea-fowl frequenting the island of 

 Rathlin, Co. Antrim." He adds, " almost every sea-fowl I had an opportunity of 

 examining had the mouth and stomach filled with the fry of this fish ; and from 

 the innumerable flocks of birds which reside here during summer the quantity 

 of fry devoured at this period must be quite incalculable."! 



Sand Eels. — Newcastle, Co. Down, July 26th, 1851. I walked to the inner 

 bay of Dundrum to-day at low water, and came up with an old man and 

 his son, who were on their May to the sand eel fishing. The old man had 

 a rudely formed fishing basket slung behind him, and the boy carried an 

 old shovel : to my inquiring why the shovel Avas taken, as I had never 

 seen anything but old reaping hooks used here, it was replied that the 

 fish were sometimes so deep in the sands that they required to be dug 

 out ; he also produced an old hook from his basket. I joined them to go 

 to the fishing. We crossed the sand-hills over to the strait which lies 

 between the outer and inner bays of Dundrum, and suddenly on a high 

 sloping bank above the fishing-ground Ave came upon about twenty-five 

 or thirty men, women, boys, and girls, lying there with their fishing 

 baskets and other paraphernalia, awaiting the falling of the tide. On 

 my remarking that it was a pity of the poor sand eels if they were all 

 going to attack them, it was said, " We are not near all come yet." The 

 fishing soon commenced, and I was sur])rised to see the Ammodytes 

 shovelled out from shelly and gravelly sand, to a depth of two feet, 

 on tjie surface of which my weight hardly left a foot-mark. I saw many 



* An observant friend once saw a sand eel about 4 inches in length taken with 

 bait, which was either a piece of herring or a composition of feathers — the latter 

 a common bait for the coal-fish {Merlangus Carbonarvxs) in the North of Ire- 

 land. 



t Paper on the Statistics and Natural History of the Island of Rathlin. Trans. 

 Royal Irish Academy, 1836. 



[24 adult sand eels were taken 'from the stomach'of Merfjus scrrator,'hy Dr. 

 Ball, in the winter of 1837 Ed.] 



