Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Stickleback
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 photo: Ron Offermans Gasterosteus aculeatus | ||||||||||
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Apeltes |
The Gasterosteidae are a family of fishes including the Sticklebacks. FishBase currently recognises 14 species in the family, grouped in 5 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 currently classified in the related family Aulorhynchidae .
The family includes the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus, common in Europe and colloquially known in Britain as the "tiddler". Niko Tinbergen's studies of the behaviour of this fish were important in the early development of ethology.
Taxonomy
- Family: Gasterosteidae
- Genus: Apeltes : one species, the four-spined stickleback A. quadracus
- Genus: Culaea one species, the brook stickleback C. inconstans
- Genus: Gasterosteus : four species of sticklebacks, one with several subspecies
- Genus: Pungitius : nine-spined sticklebacks, seven species several of which have more than one subspecies
- Genus: Spinachia : one species, the fifteen-spined stickleback or sea stickleback S. spinachia
External links
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