🐟Three-spined stickleback
The three-spined stickleback 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 and very tolerant of changes in salinity, a subject of interest to physiologists. It displays elaborate breeding behavior and it can be social 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.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2024.
- Body mass
- not recorded
- Body length
- 0.05 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 8 years
Everything we know about the Three-spined stickleback
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body length0.05 mrecord 0.11 m · FishBasetypical adultFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Record: largest individual on record
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Maximum lifespan8 yearsrecord 8 years · FishBaseAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic level3.31FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 3.31 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humansharmlessFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Three-spined stickleback yet: body mass, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›orderGasterosteiformes
- ›familyGasterosteidae
- ›genusGasterosteus
- ›speciesGasterosteus aculeatus
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- infraorderGasterosteales
- familyGasterosteidae
- genusGasterosteus
All 13 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- classActinopteri
- subclassNeopterygii
- orderAcanthomorphata
- suborderCottioidei
- infraorderGasterosteales
- familyGasterosteidae
- genusGasterosteus
More about the Three-spined stickleback
No videos of the Three-spined stickleback yet.
We have 44,653 videos so far, and none of them features this animal yet.
All videos →Compare the Three-spined stickleback
Pick a tool — the Three-spined stickleback is already selected.
Compare every stat with any other animal.
Stand them on the same floor and see who's bigger.
How speed, brain and bite scale with body size. This animal isn't in the sample yet.
See where it sits in the tree of life.