Three-spined stickleback
Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758
The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a bony fish in the family Gasterosteidae. It belongs to the genus Gasterosteus, the suborder Gasterosteoidei and the order Perciformes, within the class Teleostei.
Quick facts about the three-spined stickleback
The species was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and other English names for it include Spawn, Cushy, Doctor, Spanny and Sparny. On the IUCN Red List it is assessed globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the three-spined stickleback
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the three-spined stickleback live?
Not recorded
What is the three-spined stickleback?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Three-spined stickleback” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Three-spined_stickleback&oldid=1383212545), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the three-spined stickleback endangered?
The three-spined stickleback is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the three-spined stickleback classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- familyGasterosteidae
- genusGasterosteus
- SpeciesGasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Gasteracanthus cataphractus, Gasterosrosteus williamsoni japonicus, Gasterosteus aculcatus, Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus, Gasterosteus aculeatus algeriensis, Gasterosteus aculeatus gymnurus, Gasterosteus aculeatus leiurus, Gasterosteus aculeatus messinicus, Gasterosteus aculeatus santaannae, Gasterosteus aculeatus santaeannae, Gasterosteus aculeatus trachurus, Gasterosteus aculeatus var. messinicus, Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni, Gasterosteus algeriensis, Gasterosteus argentatissimus, Gasterosteus argyropomus, Gasterosteus atkinsi, Gasterosteus atkinsii, Gasterosteus bailloni, Gasterosteus biaculeatus, Gasterosteus biaculeatus, Gasterosteus biaculeatus, Gasterosteus biarmatus, Gasterosteus bispinosus, Gasterosteus brachycentrus, Gasterosteus cataphractus, Gasterosteus cuvieri, Gasterosteus dekayi, Gasterosteus dimidiatus, Gasterosteus elegans, Gasterosteus gymnurus, Gasterosteus hologymnus, Gasterosteus inopinatus, Gasterosteus insculptus, Gasterosteus intermedius, Gasterosteus leiurus, Gasterosteus loricatus, Gasterosteus nemausensis, Gasterosteus neoboracensis, Gasterosteus neustrianus, Gasterosteus niger, Gasterosteus noveboracensis, Gasterosteus obolarius, Gasterosteus plebeius, Gasterosteus ponticus, Gasterosteus pugetti, Gasterosteus quadrispinosa, Gasterosteus quadrispinosus, Gasterosteus santaeannae, Gasterosteus semiarmatus, Gasterosteus semiloricatus, Gasterosteus serratus, Gasterosteus spinulosus, Gasterosteus suppositus, Gasterosteus teraculeatus, Gasterosteus tetracanthus, Gasterosteus texanus, Gasterosteus trachurus, Gasterosteus williamsoni, Gasterosteus williamsoni japonicus, Gastrosteus aculeatus, Gastrosteus hologymnus, Gastrosteus santaeannae, Gastrosteus williamsoni, Gastrosteus williamsoni japonicus, Gladiunculus bispinosus, Leiurus aculeatus
Other names and names in other languages (143)
- Alaskan sticklebackEnglish
- BanstickleEnglish
- BanstickleEnglish
- BarnystickleEnglish
- BarnytickleEnglish
- BranchyEnglish
- BranstickleEnglish
- BurnstickleEnglish
- BurnstickleEnglish
- Common sticklebackEnglish
- CushyEnglish
- DoctorEnglish
- Eastern sticklebackEnglish
- European sticklebackEnglish
- JacksharpEnglish
- New York sticklebackEnglish
- PinfishEnglish
- PinfishEnglish
- PricklebackEnglish
- PrickleyEnglish
- PricklyEnglish
- Prickly backEnglish
- Santa ana sticklebackEnglish
- Saw-finned sticklebackEnglish
- Saw-finned sticklebackEnglish
- SpanicleEnglish
- SpannistickleEnglish
- SpannyEnglish
- SpannytickleEnglish
- SpanstickleEnglish
- SpantickleEnglish
- SparnicleEnglish
- SparnyEnglish
- SparnytickleEnglish
- SpawnEnglish
- SpawnykettleEnglish
- SpawnytickleEnglish
- SticklebackEnglish
- ThornbackEnglish
- ThornbackEnglish
- ThornfishEnglish
- Thorny backEnglish
- Thorny backEnglish
- Three-spine sticklebackEnglish
- Threespine sticklebackEnglish
- Threespine sticklebackEnglish
- Threespine stickletbackEnglish
- Threespined sticklebackEnglish
- TiddlerEnglish
- TiddlerEnglish
- TittlebatEnglish
- Twospine sticklebackEnglish
- Western three-spined sticklebackEnglish
- Western threespine sticklebackEnglish
- بو شوكة ثلاثي الشوكاتArabic
- Üçtikanlı tikanbalığıAzerbaijani
- КедринкаBulgarian
- Триигла бодливкаBulgarian
- EspinósCatalan
- PunxosetCatalan
- koljuška západníCzech
- Koljuška tříostnáCzech
- Crethyll Tri PhigynWelsh
- crothell dri phigynWelsh
- trepigget hundestejleDanish
- dreistachliger StichlingGerman
- dreistacheliger StichlingGerman
- Westlicher StichlingGerman
- ΑγκαθερόGreek
- ΣκυλόψαροGreek
- ΣταυρίδιGreek
- espinosoSpanish
- espinochoSpanish
- OgalikEstonian
- آبنوس سهخارهPersian
- kolmipiikkiFinnish
- ArseletFrench
- CordonnierFrench
- Crève-valetFrench
- ÉchardeFrench
- ÉpinartFrench
- ÉpingletFrench
- ÉpinocheFrench
- epinoche à 3 épinesFrench
- épinoche à trois épinesFrench
- epinoche à trois pointesFrench
- Épinoche communeFrench
- EstancelinFrench
- Étrangle-chatFrench
- Quatre-épéesFrench
- KoljuškaCroatian
- tüskés pikóHungarian
- SpinarelloItalian
- イトヨJapanese
- KakilisakKalaallisut
- 큰가시고기Korean
- trispyglė dyglėLithuanian
- Trīsadatu stagarsLatvian
- KazragsLatvian
- trepigget stingsildNorwegian Bokmål
- hønnsikNorwegian Bokmål
- hønntjuNorwegian Bokmål
- hundstikkeNorwegian Bokmål
- stengsildNorwegian Bokmål
- stensildNorwegian Bokmål
- stiklingNorwegian Bokmål
- driedoornige stekelbaarsDutch
- trepigga stingsildNorwegian Nynorsk
- bentenNorwegian Nynorsk
- hånsydlNorwegian Nynorsk
- hønnsildNorwegian Nynorsk
- hornsyleNorwegian Nynorsk
- steggNorwegian Nynorsk
- stikkfiskNorwegian Nynorsk
- stikksildNorwegian Nynorsk
- tindaureNorwegian Nynorsk
- vasseileNorwegian Nynorsk
- vombakjessaNorwegian Nynorsk
- ciernikPolish
- Esgana-gataPortuguese
- EsganagataPortuguese
- Esganagata-europeiaPortuguese
- GhidrinulRomanian
- Трехиглая колюшкаRussian
- трёхиглая колюшкаRussian
- Колюшка трехиглая обыкновеннаяRussian
- gulmmetNorthern Sami
- ruovdegulmmetNorthern Sami
- šilla (golmmabiikkat)Northern Sami
- Pichľavka sináSlovak
- zetSlovenian
- gjëmbaçiAlbanian
- peshk koçkuniAlbanian
- BodonjaSerbian
- storspiggSwedish
- DikenceTurkish
- dikence baligiTurkish
- dikence balığıTurkish
- Üç Dikenli BalıkTurkish
- Колючка триголковаUkrainian
- Колючка триголкова звичайнаUkrainian
- Триголкова колючка звичайнаUkrainian
- 三刺鱼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the three-spined stickleback
Other species in the same genus Gasterosteus.
Spanny
Gasterosteus wheatlandi
Techirghiol stickleback
Gasterosteus crenobiontus
Iceland stickleback
Gasterosteus islandicus
Japan sea stickleback
Gasterosteus nipponicus
CompareThree-spined stickleback vs Gasterosteus microcephalusThree-spined stickleback vs SpannyThree-spined stickleback vs Techirghiol sticklebackThree-spined stickleback vs Iceland stickleback
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the three-spined stickleback?
The three-spined stickleback is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Gasterosteidae in the order Perciformes.
What is the scientific name of the three-spined stickleback?
Its scientific name is Gasterosteus aculeatus, placing it in the genus Gasterosteus.
Who named the three-spined stickleback?
The species Gasterosteus aculeatus was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Is the three-spined stickleback endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the three-spined stickleback have?
Other English names for the three-spined stickleback are Spawn, Cushy, Doctor, Spanny and Sparny.
What family does the three-spined stickleback belong to?
It belongs to the family Gasterosteidae, within the suborder Gasterosteoidei.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/three-spined-stickleback
“Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/three-spined-stickleback.
@misc{three_spined_stickleback_2026,
title = {Three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/three-spined-stickleback},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}