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Three-spined stickleback

Three-spined stickleback
Gasterosteus aculeatus.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gasterosteiformes
Family: Gasterosteidae
Genus: Gasterosteus
Species: G. aculeatus
Binomial name
Gasterosteus aculeatus
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
  • Gasteracanthus cataphractus Pallas, 1814
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus algeriensis Sauvage, 1874
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus messinicus Stephanidis, 1971
  • Gasterosteus aculeatus microcephalus (non-Girard, 1854)
  • Gasterosteus algeriensis Sauvage, 1874
  • Gasterosteus argentatissimus Blanchard, 1866
  • Gasterosteus argyropomus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus atkinsi Bean, 1879
  • Gasterosteus atkinsii Bean, 1879
  • Gasterosteus bailloni Blanchard, 1866
  • Gasterosteus biaculeatus Mitchill, 1815
  • Gasterosteus biarmatus Krynicki, 1840
  • Gasterosteus bispinosus Walbaum, 1792
  • Gasterosteus brachycentrus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus cataphractus (Pallas, 1814)
  • Gasterosteus cuvieri Girard, 1850
  • Gasterosteus Dekayi Ayres, 1855
  • Gasterosteus dimidiatus Reinhardt, 1837
  • Gasterosteus elegans Blanchard, 1866
  • Gasterosteus gymnurus (non-Cuvier, 1829)
  • Gasterosteus hologymnus Regan, 1909
  • Gasterosteus inopinatus Girard, 1854
  • Gasterosteus insculptus Richardson, 1855
  • Gasterosteus intermedius Girard, 1856
  • Gasterosteus islandicus (non-Sauvage, 1874)
  • Gasterosteus leiurus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus loricatus Reinhardt, 1837
  • Gasterosteus microcephalus (non-Girard, 1854)
  • Gasterosteus nemausensis Crespon, 1844
  • Gasterosteus neoboracensis DeKay, 1842
  • Gasterosteus neustrianus Blanchard, 1866
  • Gasterosteus niger Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus noveboracensis Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus obolarius Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus plebeius Girard, 1854
  • Gasterosteus ponticus Nordmann, 1840
  • Gasterosteus pugetti Girard, 1856
  • Gasterosteus quadrispinosa Crespon, 1844
  • Gasterosteus quadrispinosus Crespon, 1844
  • Gasterosteus semiarmatus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus semiloricatus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus serratus Ayres, 1855
  • Gasterosteus spinulosus Yarrell, 1835
  • Gasterosteus suppositus Sauvage, 1874
  • Gasterosteus teraculeatus Lacepède, 1801
  • Gasterosteus tetracanthus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gasterosteus texanus Sauvage, 1874
  • Gasterosteus trachurus Cuvier, 1829
  • Gastrosteus hologymnus Regan, 1909

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a fish native to most inland coastal waters north of 30°N. It has long been a subject of scientific study for many reasons. It shows great morphological variation throughout its range, ideal for questions about evolution and population genetics. Most populations are anadromous (they live in seawater but breed in fresh or brackish water) and very tolerant of changes in salinity, a subject of interest to physiologists. It displays elaborate breeding behavior (defending a territory, building a nest, taking care of the eggs and fry) and it can be social (living in shoals outside the breeding season) making it a popular subject of enquiry in fish ethology and behavioral ecology. Its antipredator adaptations, host-parasite interactions, sensory physiology, reproductive physiology, and endocrinology have also been much studied. Facilitating these studies is the fact that the three-spined stickleback is easy to find in nature and easy to keep in aquaria.

This species can occasionally reach lengths of 8 cm (3.1 in), but lengths of 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) at maturity are more common. The body is laterally compressed. The base of the tail is slender. The caudal fin has 12 rays. The dorsal fin has 10–14 rays; in front of it are the three spines that give the fish its name (though some individuals may have only two or four). The third spine (the one closest to the dorsal fin) is much shorter than the other two. The back of each spine is joined to the body by a thin membrane. The anal fin has eight to 11 rays and is preceded by a short spine. The pelvic fins consist of just a spine and one ray. All spines can be locked in an erect position, making the fish extremely hard to swallow by a predator. The pectoral fins are large, with 10 rays. The body bears no scales, but is protected by bony plates on the back, flanks, and belly. Only one ventral plate is present, but the number of flank plates varies greatly across the distribution range and across habitat types (see below); it is normally higher in marine populations (some freshwater populations may in fact lack lateral plates altogether).

Dorsal coloration varies, but tends towards a drab olive or a silvery green, sometimes with brown mottling. The flanks and belly are silvery. In males during the breeding season, the eyes become blue and the lower head, throat, and anterior belly turn bright red. The throat and belly of breeding females can turn slightly pink. A few populations, however, have breeding males which are all black or all white.


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Wikipedia

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