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Culaea inconstans

(Common freshwater stickleback)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Danish:

Bækhundestejle

Common Names in English:

Brook Lamprey, brook stickleback, Common freshwater stickleback, Common stickleback, Five-spined stickleback, Pinfish, Six-spined stickleback, Variable stickleback

Common Names in Finnish:

Viisipiikki

Common Names in French:

épinoche à cinq épines, Épinoche à cinq épines

Common Names in German:

Fünfstacheliger Stichling

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

溪刺魚, 溪刺鱼, 溪巢刺魚, 溪巢刺鱼

Common Names in Swedish:

Bäckspigg

Description

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Physical Description

Species Culaea inconstans

Body: Mouth and snout: Terminal to slightly superior and oblique , with minute teeth on upper and lower jaws . No barbels . Body patterning, color, and scales : Mottled with irregular blotches, blotches often faint so appearing to be solidly colored ; olive, greenish-gray, brown, or black with lighter colored blotches, cream on belly. No scales, but 30-36 small bony plates along lateral line. Fins variably pigmented . Body shape and size: Body fusiform in side view and laterally compressed . Typically 35-65 mm (1.5-2.5 in) TL ; maximum about 85 mm (3.5 in).

Fins: Tail, dorsal and other fins: Rounded or square tail. The dorsal fin consists of 4-6 (usually 5) unconnected spines of similar size followed by a fin with 9-11 connected rays. Pelvic fins thoracic and reduced to a single spine and ray; pelvic fins possibly lacking in some populations. No adipose fin . Anal fin with 1 spine and 9-10 rays.

Distinguishing characteristics: The brook stickleback can be distinguished by the 4-6 (usually 5) similarly sized and unconnected spines on its back. See also similar species information.

Breeding adults : Similar to nonbreeders, but actively breeding males often solid jet black in life (black fades in preservative and fish appears mottled).

Juveniles : Similar to adults.

Size/Age/Growth

Males are commonly 5 cm (Total Length) in length when caught/marketed, but may be as large as 9 cm (Total Length).

Habitat

Inhabits cool, vegetated, sand or mud bottoms of lakes and ponds . Also in pools and backwaters of creeks and small rivers . Rarely found in brackish water. May be found at depths of 0 to 55 meters.

Typically found in a lake at a mean distance from sea level of 511 meters (1,675 feet).[1]

Ecology: Culaea inconstans generally occupies cool, clear, heavily weeded, spring-fed creeks , small rivers , lakes , and ponds , usually in shallow, quiet to flowing pools and backwaters over sand or mud . This species is occassionally seen burrowing into soft sediments. Occasionally this fish can be found in brackish water. In a lake in Manitoba, adults were most abundant at the outer margin of emergent vegetation (Moodie 1986). Eggs are deposited in a nest made of plant material by the male just above the bottom in shallow water. (Ref. 266563).

List of Habitats :

Biology

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Diet

Feeds on crustacean and insect larvae, eggs and larvae of fishes , snails, oligochaetes and algae[2].

Behavior

Predators:

Preyed upon by kingfishers, herons, and mergansers and occasionally by fishes like Salvelinus fontinalis and Esox lucius[2].

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Culaea inconstans • Culaea inconstans (Kirtland, 1840) • Eucalia inconstans (Kirtland • Eucalia inconstans pygmaea (Agassiz • Eucalia pygmaea (Agassiz • Gasterosteus globiceps Sauvage • Gasterosteus gymnetes Dawson • Gasterosteus inconstans • Gasterosteus inconstans Kirtland • Gasterosteus inconstans Kirtland, 1841 • Gasterosteus pygmaeus Agassiz

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Year follows Ref. 54621.

Last scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 30-May-1994

Similar Species

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Fish Name Spines on Back Similarity Index Brook Stickleback 4-6 (usually 5); similarly sized and unconnected N/A Ninespine Stickleback 8-11 (usually 9); similarly sized Moderately similar Threespine Stickleback 2-4 (usually 3); differently sized; first two spines much larger than the third (or forth if present) Moderately similar

Members of the genus Culaea

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. inconstans (Common Freshwater Stickleback)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Standard Deviation = 489.240 based on 2,268 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  2. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012