. Fishes. Fishes. The Blennies: Blenniids 73: Sand-lances: Anunodytidae. — Near the OpJddiidcB are placed the small family of sand-lances (Ammodyiidce). This family com- prises small, slender, silvery fishes, of both Arctic and tropical seas, living along shore and having the habit of burying them- selves in the sand under the surf in shallow water. The jaws are toothless, the body scarcely scaly and crossed by many cross- folds of skin, the many-rayed dorsal fin is without spines, and the ventral fins when present are jugular. The species of the family are very much alike. From their great ab
. Fishes. Fishes. The Blennies: Blenniids 73: Sand-lances: Anunodytidae. — Near the OpJddiidcB are placed the small family of sand-lances (Ammodyiidce). This family com- prises small, slender, silvery fishes, of both Arctic and tropical seas, living along shore and having the habit of burying them- selves in the sand under the surf in shallow water. The jaws are toothless, the body scarcely scaly and crossed by many cross- folds of skin, the many-rayed dorsal fin is without spines, and the ventral fins when present are jugular. The species of the family are very much alike. From their great abundance they have sometimes much value as food, more perhaps as bait, still more as food for salmon and other fishes, from which they escape by plunging into the sand. Sometimes a falling tide Fig. 642.—Sand-lance, Ammodytes americanus De Kay. Nantucket. leaves a sandy beach fairly covered with living "lants " looking like a moving foam of silver. Ammodytes tohianus is the sand- lance or lant of northern Europe. Ammodytes americanus, scarcely distinguishable, replaces it in America; and Ammodytes personatus in California, Alaska, and Japan. This is a most excellent pan fish, and the Japanese, who regard little things, value it highly. In the genus Hyperoplus there is a large tooth on the vomer. In the tropical genera there is a much smaller number of vertebrae and the body is covered with ordinary scales instead. Fig. QiS.^Embolichthys mitsukurii (Jordan & Evermann). Formosa. of delicate, obhque cross-folds of skin. These tropical species must probably be detached from the Ammodytidce to form a distinct family, BleekeriidcB. Bleekeria kallolepis is found in India, Bleekeria gilli is from an unknown locality, and the most primitive species of sand-lance, Embolichthys mitsukurii,. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not pe
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