Gymnammodytes semisquamatus (Jourdain, 1879)
Smooth sandeel

Family:  Ammodytidae (Sand lances)
Max. size:  30 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 5 - 20 m
Distribution:  Northeast Atlantic: southern coast of Norway and the Shetlands to Spain, including all coasts of the British Isles and the North Sea, but not the Baltic.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 53-56; Anal soft rays: 26-31. Palate without pointed teeth. Lateral line branched. Margins of dorsal and anal fins undulated. Scales restricted to the posterior third of the body (Ref. 35388).
Biology:  Typically offshore over shell-gravel, also inshore where shell-gravel beaches occur. Feed on plankton. Summer batch spawner (Ref. 4674). By-catch in sand eel fisheries (Ref. 35388).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 12 March 2014 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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