Mediterranean sand eel
Gymnammodytes cicerelus (Rafinesque, 1810)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Gymnammodytes cicerelus, also known as Mediterranean sand eel, sonso in Catalan, and barrinaire or enfú in Menorca, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Ammodytidae, the sand lances and sand eels. It is the only species of this family in the Mediterranean Sea.
It is found over sandy or gravelly substrates in the east-central Atlantic from Portugal to Senegal, including the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands, and into the Mediterranean Sea and eastwards into the Black Sea.
Its maximum size is 17 cm. It is highly appreciated as food in certain areas of Italy, as well as in Catalan cuisine where it is fried after being lightly coated in batter.
Wikipedia contributors, Gymnammodytes cicerelus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:28.999525+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gymnammodytes cicerelus (Rafinesque, 1810)
- Name authority
- (Rafinesque, 1810)
- Common name
- Mediterranean sand eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Ammodytidae
- Genus
- Gymnammodytes
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderUranoscopoidei
- familyAmmodytidae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusGymnammodytes Duncker & Mohr, 1935
- speciesGymnammodytes cicerelus (Rafinesque, 1810)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gymnammodytes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| smooth sandeelGymnammodytes semisquamatus (Jourdain, 1879) | AmmodytidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cape sandlanceGymnammodytes capensis (Barnard, 1927) | AmmodytidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gymnammodites cicerelus (Rafinesque, 1810) (Rafinesque, 1810) | synonym |
| Gymnammodytes cicerellus (Rafinesque, 1810) (Rafinesque, 1810) | synonym |
| Ammodytes argenteus Risso, 1827 Risso, 1827 | synonym |
| Ammodytes cicerelus Rafinesque, 1810 Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym |
| Ammodytes terebrans Cisternas, 1875 Cisternas, 1875 | synonym |
| Ammodytes cicerellus Rafinesque, 1810 Rafinesque, 1810 | synonym |
| Ammodytes siculus Swainson, 1839 Swainson, 1839 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126753 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3HP6H. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.