Sticklebacks
| Sticklebacks | |
|---|---|
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| Four marine species of stickleback from the Atlantic Ocean coast of North America | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Subclass: | Neopterygii |
| Infraclass: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Gasterosteiformes |
| Family: | Gasterosteidae |
| Genera | |
Apeltes
Culaea
Gasterosteus
Pungitius
Spinachia
The Gasterosteidae are a family of fish including the sticklebacks. They are related to pipefish and seahorses.
FishBase recognises 16 species in the family, grouped in five genera. However, several of the species have a number of recognised subspecies, and the taxonomy of the family is thought to be in need of revision.
Although some authorities give the common name of the family as "sticklebacks and tube-snouts", the tube-snouts are classified in the related family Aulorhynchidae.
Genera include:
Sticklebacks are most commonly found in the ocean, but some can be found in fresh water. The freshwater taxa were trapped in Europe, Asia, and North America after the Ice Age, and have evolved different features from the marine species.
Sticklebacks are carnivorous, feeding on small animals such as insects, crustaceans and fish larvae.
Sticklebacks are characterised by the presence of strong and clearly isolated spines in their dorsal fins. An unusual feature of sticklebacks is that they have no scales, although some species have bony armour plates.
The maximum size of the best-known species, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), is about 4 inches, but few of them are more than 3 inches long. They mature sexually at a length of about 2 inches. Most other stickleback species are roughly similar in size or somewhat smaller. The only exception is the far larger fifteen-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia), which can reach 22 cm (approx. 8.7 inches).
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Wikipedia