Three-spined stickleback

Three-spined stickleback
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Gasterosteidae
Genus:	Gasterosteus
Species:	G. aculeatus
Binomial name
Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758
Distribution of Gasterosteus aculeatus, with observations (dots; based on [2]) and distribution (shaded area; based on https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=702)
Synonyms[3]
List Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758 Leiurus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Gasterosteus bispinosus Walbaum, 1792 Gasterosteus teraculeatus Lacépède, 1801 Gasteracanthus cataphractus Pallas, 1814 Gasterosteus cataphractus (Pallas, 1814) Gasterosteus biaculeatus Mitchill, 1815 Gasterosteus gymnurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus aculeatus gymnurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus semiarmatus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus niger Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus trachurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus aculeatus trachurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus leiurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus aculeatus leiurus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus semiloricatus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus argyropomus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus tetracanthus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus brachycentrus Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus noveboracensis Cuvier, 1829 Gasterosteus obolarius Cuvier, 1829r Gasterosteus spinulosus Yarrell, 1835 Gasterosteus dimidiatus Reinhardt, 1837 Gasterosteus loricatus Reinhardt, 1837 Gasterosteus biarmatus Krynicki, 1840 Gasterosteus ponticus Nordmann, 1840 Gasterosteus neoboracensis DeKay, 1842 Gasterosteus nemausensis Crespon, 1844 Gasterosteus quadrispinosa Crespon, 1844 Gasterosteus cuvieri Girard, 1850 Gasterosteus williamsoni Girard, 1854 Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni Girard, 1854 Gasterosteus inopinatus Girard, 1854 Gasterosteus plebeius Girard, 1854 Gasterosteus serratus Ayres, 1855 Gasterosteus insculptus Richardson, 1855 Gasterosteus intermedius Girard, 1856 Gasterosteus pugetti Girard, 1856 Gasterosteus neustrianus Blanchard, 1866 Gasterosteus argentatissimus Blanchard, 1866 Gasterosteus elegans Blanchard, 1866 Gasterosteus bailloni Blanchard, 1866 Gasterosteus texanus Sauvage, 1874 Gasterosteus algeriensis Sauvage, 1874 Gasterosteus aculeatus algeriensis Sauvage, 1874 Gasterosteus suppositus Sauvage, 1874 Gasterosteus atkinsii Bean, 1879 Gastrosteus hologymnus Regan, 1909 Gasterosteus hologymnus Regan, 1909 Gasterosteus santaeannae Regan, 1909 Gasterosteus aculeatus santaeannae Regan, 1909 Gasterosteus aculeatus messinicus Stephanidis, 1971

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a fish native to most inland and 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. Many 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 inquiry 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.^[4]