or SAND-EEL, in ichthyology, a genus of fishes belonging to the order of apodes. This fish resembles an eel, and seldom exceeds a foot in length. The head of the ammodytes is compressed, and narrower than the body; the upper jaw is larger than the lower; the body is cylindrical, with scales hardly perceptible. There is but one species of the ammodytes, viz. the tobianus, or lancee, a native of Europe. This fish gathers itself into a circle, and pierces the land with its head in the centre. It is found in most of our sandy shores during some of the summer-months: it conceals itself; on the receipt of the tides, beneath the sand, in such places where the water is left, at the depth of about a foot; and is in some places dug out, in others drawn up by means of a hook contrived for that purpose. They are commonly used as baits for other fish, but they are also very delicate eating. These fish are found in the stomach of the Porpoise; an argument that the last roots up the sand with its nose, as hogs do the ground.