Stickleback
Featured in: Year 1: Animals, including humans
Stickleback
Fish
A small, hardy fish found in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving rivers across the UK.
How to identify:
Look for a small, slender, greyish-green fish with two to four sharp spines visible on its back.
💡 Fun Facts
- The male stickleback builds a nest out of weeds which he glues together with a special substance from his kidneys.
- It gets its name from the sharp spines along its back which it can raise to protect itself from predators.
- The number of spines can vary; most sticklebacks in the UK have three.
Name Story
Gasterosteus aculeatus
means “the spiny bony-belly”
What does its name mean?
- Gasterosteus — bony-bellyGreek gastēr 'belly' + osteon 'bone'
- aculeatus — prickly, spinyLatin aculeus 'sting/spine'
- three-spined — for the three sharp spines on its backEnglish
This tiny fish wears armour instead of ordinary scales — rows of bony plates down its sides — and bristles with sharp spines it can raise for defence. Its names add up to a perfect portrait: 'bony-belly', 'prickly', and 'three-spined'.