Orr et al.: Systematics of North Pacific sand lances of the genu s Ammodytes and description of a new species 
147 
into the Sea of Okhotsk, a conclusion that will require 
further analysis of specimens from these areas. 
Etymology 
The specific name personatus is derived from the Latin 
personata meaning “masked,” perhaps referring to a 
dark area on the head found in a few specimens. The 
author’s intent is uncertain, as the derivation of the 
name was not specified in the original description and 
type material is missing. Because most specimens do 
not have a masked appearance, we chose the common 
name of “Pacific sand lance.” Although this common 
name has been assigned previously to A. hexapterus 
(Nelson et al., 2004; Page et al., 2013), and the name 
has been applied to all eastern populations of the North 
Pacific region, A. hexapterus as now recognized is known 
in the Pacific Ocean only around the Kuril Islands, un- 
like A. personatus, which is found in the Pacific Ocean 
from the western Aleutian Islands to California. 
Remarks 
No type material is extant for Ammodytes personatus. 
Girard (1856) described the species from material col- 
lected by Lieutenant Trowbridge at Cape Flattery, 
Washington. Listed with the same collector and local- 
ity, USNM 612 likely composed at least part of the 
material used for the original description but is now 
missing and presumed lost (Williams 3 ). Because of 
the close morphological similarity but distinct genetic 
signature of species of Ammodytes, we designate UW 
116044 from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Salish 
Sea as the neotype. The locality is about 130 km east 
of the original type locality, and no other species of Am- 
modytes is known from the eastern North Pacific Ocean 
or Salish Sea. 
Ammodytes japonicus Duncker and Mohr, 1939 
Western sand lance [Japanese name: Ikanago] 
Figures 6C and 7C; Tables 5-7 
Ammodytes personatus-. Jordan, 1906:717, fig. 2 (in 
part; revision, all Ammodytes of the North Pacific 
region referred to A. personatus ); Hashimoto and 
Kawasaki, 1981 (in part, “type N”); Han et al., 2012 
(in part, “lineage B”). 
Ammodytes japonicus Duncker and Mohr, 1939:20 (in 
part; original description; lectotype ZMH H142, 88.5 
mm, Hokkaido, Japan; paralectotypes ZMH H143, 51 
specimens, 6 of 51 examined, 64.0-86.7 mm, Otaru 
[=“Otaka”], Hokkaido, Japan). 
Ammodytes aleutensis Duncker and Mohr, 1939:20 
(original description; lectotype ZMH H139, 1 speci- 
men, 81.0 mm, Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan; paralec- 
totypes: ZMH H140, 1 specimen, 86.3 mm, Otaru 
3 Williams, J. 2013. Personal commun. Department of Ver- 
tebrate Biology, National Museum of Natural History, Smith- 
sonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746. 
[=“Otaka”], Hokkaido, Japan; ZMH H141, 6 speci- 
mens, 62.0-73.2 mm, Kobe fish market, Japan; 
ZMB 14235, 5 specimens, 87-114.5 mm, Unalaska, 
Alaska). 
Diagnosis 
A species of Ammodytes distinguished from A. hexa- 
pterus by its significantly fewer total vertebrae (59-66 
vs. 65-72) and precaudal vertebrae (36-43 vs. 40-47), 
more pored lateral-line scales (132-166 vs. 121-152) 
and dermal plicae (144-182 vs. 143-172), fewer dorsal- 
fin rays (50-60 vs. 56-63), and more pigmented pecto- 
ral-fin rays (4-11 vs. 2-6); from A. personatus by sig- 
nificantly fewer total vertebrae (59-66 vs. 65-73) and 
precaudal vertebrae (36-43 vs. 41-49), fewer dorsal-fin 
rays (50-60 vs. 56-66), and more pigmented pectoral- 
fin rays (4-11 vs. 3-7); and from the new species by 
its narrower body anteriorly (depth at dorsal-fin origin 
32-53% HL vs. 33-57% HL), longer upper jaw (30-39% 
HL vs. 29-34% HL), larger orbit (12-20% HL vs. 11- 
15% HL), fewer pored lateral-line scales (132-163 vs. 
142-185), and fewer dermal plicae (144-182 vs. 156- 
198). It is further distinguished from all other species 
of the North Pacific region by a unique COI haplotype 
(GenBank Accession KJ137283; Appdx 2). 
Description 
Body elongate, slender, depth at dorsal-fin origin 
32.0- 53.0% HL (38.4% HL), depth at anal-fin origin 
33.0- 57.0% HL (42.4% HL), depth at caudal peduncle 
10.0- 16.0% HL (11.3% HL). Head long, 17.6-24.5% SL. 
Snout long, 25.0-30.0% HL (28.8% HL). Mouth large: 
upper jaw 30.0-39.0% HL (32.8% HL); lower jaw 35.0- 
50.0% HL (43.5% HL). Orbit moderately large, 12.0- 
20.0% HL (15.8% HL). Gill rakers long, 7.5-13.4% HL, 
slender, 20-29 (31), 3-6 on upper part of arch, 16-26 
on lower part. Pseudobranchs 7-14. 
Pored lateral-line scales 132-163 (132). Scales be- 
low lateral-line situated along 144-182 (144) oblique 
dermal plicae. 
Dorsal-fin rays 50-60 (51). Anal-fin rays 26-33 (30), 
7-12 (9) pterygiophores anterior to first caudal verte- 
bra. Pectoral-fin rays 13-17 (15), rays 4-11 pigmented. 
Total vertebrae 59-66 (63), precaudal vertebrae 36-43 
(39), caudal vertebrae 21-28 (24). 
Distribution 
On the basis of material examined, we determined that 
Ammodytes japonicus ranges from the southern Sea of 
Okhotsk through the Sea of Japan into the Seto Inland 
Sea and the Pacific Ocean off the southern part of Ja- 
pan (Fig. 1). In the southern Sea of Okhotsk, its range 
overlaps with that of A. hexapterus and the new spe- 
cies in the Soya Strait off Wakkanai, Hokkaido (Fig. 1). 
Data of Okamoto (1989), Kim et al. (2006, 2008, 2010), 
Han et al. (2012), and published sequences in GenBank 
indicate that A. japonicus also ranges to Kyushu, the 
