Ammodytidae

lesser sandeel

Ammodytes marinus

It briefly rises from winter sand only to spawn

• Temperate
• Northern Hemisphere
• Regional distribution
• Atlantic Ocean
• Europe
• North America
• Elongated
• Medium
• Temperate fish

Raitt's sand eel (Ammodytes marinus), is a small semi-pelagic ray-finned fish found in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Raitt's sand eel is member of the family Ammodytidae which includes all 31 species of sand eels, often referred to as sand lances. Contrary to their name sand eels, including Raitt's sand eel, are not true eels and instead belong to the order of "weever-like" fishes, the Trachiniformes.