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Perciformes/Uranoscopoidei (Sand dwellers) >
Ammodytidae (Sand lances)
Etymology: Ammodytoides: Greek, ammos = sand + Greek, dytes = anyone that likes immersions, diving (Ref. 45335); leptus: Specific name refers to it being the thinnest among the species of the genus.
More on authors: Collette & Randall.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 10 - 99 m (Ref. 37585). Tropical
Eastern Central Pacific: Endemic to Pitcairn.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37585)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 50 - 53; Anal soft rays: 24 - 25; Vertebrae: 61 - 63. Body grayish green dorsally; silvery on the sides; iridescent ventrally; hyaline fins, yellowish tail. Pelvic fins absent. Incomplete lateral line (Ref. 37585).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
A schooling fish, 25-30 individuals, found over sand with high ripple marks; fast swimmers and capable of rapid changes in direction; swim in perfect unison. Preyed upon by larger pelagic fishes such as Carangoides ferdau and other species of Ammodytoides (Ref. 37585).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Collette, B.B. and J.E. Randall, 2000. Ammodytoides leptus, a new species of sand lance (Teleostei: Ammodytidae) from Pitcairn Island. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 113(2):397-400. (Ref. 37585)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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