Great sand eel

Spotted Large sandeel ( Hyperoplus lanceolatus )

The Great Spotted sandeel ( Hyperoplus lanceolatus ) is an elongated marine fish that lives in the northeastern Atlantic from the coast of Portugal, on the Bay of Biscay, the coasts of the British Isles and Norway to Murmansk. It is also found in the North Sea, most of the Baltic Sea, in Iceland and Svalbard.

Features

The Great Spotted sandeel is 40 cm in length, but usually remains at a length of 20 cm. Sexual maturity occurs at a length of 11 to 15 cm. The main feature that made him unspotted from the Great sandeel ( Hyperoplus immaculatus ), the only other species of the genus Hyperoplus different, is a dark spot on each side of snout. In contrast to the small sandeel ( Ammodytes marinus ) and launce ( Ammodytes tobianus ), the maxillary not protaktil ( ausstülpbar ) in the two Hyperoplus species. On the palate, they carry two pointed teeth. The long dorsal fin extends over a large part of the body length, the anal fin starts behind the middle. The caudal fin is forked. Created rich the pectoral fins to the beginning of the dorsal fin.

Way of life

The Great Spotted sand eel lives in the sea near the coast and in the brackish water in the intertidal zone, estuaries and at depths 6-30 meters, in winter at some distance from the coast in depths up to 60 meters. It usually comes with Ammodytes species associated before, spend the day buried in the sand and go at dusk and at night in large flocks in search of food for zooplankton and small fish, how to catch young herring and sandeels smaller.

Great spotted sand eels spawn in the summer, the North Sea from April to September. When spawning in 20 to 100 feet of water up to 35,000 eggs are laid per female, adhering to the sand. After about three weeks hatch Sandaallarven.

Use

Like other sandeels sandeel is the Great Spotted an important fishing industry fishing and fish is processed into fish meal and fish oil. Rare meat will be consumed directly.