Bony fish · Gasterosteiformes · Gasterosteidae
Gasterosteus aculeatus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The male builds a nest of water plants bound together with "spiggin", a sticky protein he secretes through his kidneys, and defends the nest and the young fiercely.
Weight
1 kg – 4 kg
Size
3 cm – 11 cm
Life expectancy
2 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: ADFG Alaska; PLOS One; FishBase; Animal Diversity Web; Wildlife Trusts; University of Puget Sound; Animalia.bio; Better Planet Education
Best time: From April to July, during the breeding season, when the male shows his red belly and fiercely guards the nest of vegetation he has built.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 20 of 160.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Three-spined Stickleback — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about three-spined stickleback.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
