Territorial; found in inshore waters, especially sandy bays and beaches, including the inter-tidal zone and estuaries; rarely offshore. Alternate between lying buried in the sandy substrate and swimming in schools in the water mass. Adults feed on zooplankton and some large diatoms . They hibernate in winter buried in sand at depths of 20-50 cm .
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 49 - 58; Anal soft rays: 24 - 32; Vertebrae: 60 - 68. Scales present in the midline anterior to dorsal fin and over the musculature at base of caudal fin. Belly scales in tight chevron. Margins of dorsal and anal fins straight with rays of equal length. Lateral line pores linearly arranged along the un branched canals. Back typically sandy brown.: elongated; Cross section: circular.
Behavioural data for Small sandeel is currently being reviewed.
Diet information for Small sandeel is currently being compiled.
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 1 - 96 m . Temperate; 72°N - 36°N, 23°W - 42°E Northeast Atlantic: Murmansk to Spain, including Iceland and the Baltic (Ref.
zooplankton and some large diatoms (Ref
| Language | Common Names |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧English | Lesser Sand Lance · Lesser sandeel · Sand Lance · Sand-eel · Sandeel · Small sand-eel, Sand-eel · Small sandeel · Smooth Sand-eel · Smooth Sandeel · gibbin · lesser sand eel · lesser sand-eel · riggle · sand-lance |
| 🌍BRE | talareg bihen |
| 🏳️Catalan | trencavits |
| 🌍CES | smaček písečný |
| 🌍CYM | Llymrïaid · llymrïen |
| 🇩🇰Danish | Kysttobis · Sandgrævling · tobis |
| 🇩🇪German | Kleiner Sandaal · Sandaal · Sandspierling · Tobiasfisch |
| 🌍EST | väike tobias |
| 🌍EUS | abiosi |
| 🌍FAO | nebbasild |
| 🇫🇮Finnish | Pikkutuulenkala |
| 🇫🇷French | Equille · Lançon équille · amille · esquille · lançon · petit lançon |
| 🌍GLA | corr ghainimh bheag |
| 🌍GLE | Corr ghainimh bheag/ an corr |
| 🌍ISL | Sandsíli · Strandsíli |
| 🌍LAV | Tūbīte |
| 🌍LIT | mažasis tobis |
| 🇳🇱Dutch | Zandspiering · kleine zandspiering · smelt |
| 🌍NNO | småsil |
| 🌍NOB | småsil |
| 🇳🇴Norwegian | Småsil · Tobis · Tobis småsil |
| 🇵🇱Polish | Tobiasz · dobijak |
| 🇵🇹Portuguese | Galeota-menor |
| 🇷🇺Russian | peschanka · Балтийская песчанка · Европейская малопозвонковая песчанка · Малая песчанка · Песчанки |
| 🌍SME | návlu |
| 🇪🇸Spanish | Aguacioso · Lanzon · barrinaire · lanzón volador |
| 🇸🇪Swedish | Kusttobis · sandål · tobis |
| 🌍TUR | kum balığı |
| Scientific Name | Author | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ammodytes lancea | Cuvier | 1829 | Synonym |
| Ammodytes tobiunus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 41 records indexed .
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