Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Infraphylum Gnathostomata > Parvphylum Osteichthyes > Gigaclass Actinopterygii > Subclass Neopterygii > Class Teleostei > Order Perciformes > Suborder Gasterosteoidei > Family Gasterosteidae > Genus Gasterosteus

Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Gasterosteus*	Linnaeus, 1758	accepted genus name

Species group names

*Gasterosteus aculeatus aculeatus*	Linnaeus, 1758	synonym

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Danish: trepigget hundestejle sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: driedoornige stekelbaars sources: Hayward, P.; Nelson-Smith, A.; Shields, C. (1999). Gids van kust en strand: flora en fauna [Coast and beach guide: flora and fauna]. Tirion: Baarn, Netherlands. ISBN 90-5210-327-5. 352, ill. pp.

English: Burnstickle; Pinfish; Thornback; Thornfish; threespine stickleback; threespine stickletback; three-spined stickleback; Tiddler sources: Volvenko, I. V.; Orlov, A. M.; Gebruk, A. V.; Katugin, O. N.; Ogorodnikova, A. A.; Vinogradov, G. M.; Maznikova, O. A. (2019). Checklist of the trawl macrofauna from the North Pacific and adjacent seas with information about fishery importance, potential product yield, and price range, supplement to: Volvenko, Igor V; Orlov, Alexei M; Gebruk, Andrey V; Katugin, Oleg N; Ogorodnikova, Alla A; Vinogradov, Georgy M; Maznikova, Olga A (in prep.): Trawl macrofauna of the Far-Eastern Seas and North Pacific: proportion of commercial species, potential product yield, and price rang. Earth System Science Data. PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science.;North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS);Gillespie, G. E. (1993). An updated list of the fishes of British Columbia, and those of interest in adjacent waters, with numeric code designations. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 1918: 116 p.;Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.

French: épinoche à trois épines; epinoche à trois pointes sources: Nozères C., Archambault D., Chouinard P.-M., Gauthier J., Miller R., Parent E., Schwab P., Savard L., and Dutil J.-D. 2010. Identification guide for marine fishes of the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and sampling protocols used during trawl surveys between 2004 and 2008. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2866: xi + 243 p;Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.

German: dreistachliger Stichling sources: Nijssen, H.; de Groot, S.J. (1987). De vissen van Nederland: systematische indeling, historisch overzicht, het ontstaan van de viskweek, uitheemse vissoorten, determineersleutels, beschrijvingen, afbeeldingen, literatuur, van alle in Nederlandse wateren voor komende zee- en zoetwatervissoorten [Fishes of the Netherlands: systematic classification, historical overview, origins of fish culture, non-indigenous species, determination keys, descriptions, drawings, literature references on all marine and freshwater fish species living in Dutch waters]. KNNV Uitgeverij: Utrecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 90-5011-006-1. 224 pp.

Japanese: イトヨ sources: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. (2009 onwards). Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL). Accessed on 2018-11-21.

Lithuanian: trispyglė dyglė sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Bokmål: trepigget stingsild sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Nynorsk: trepigga stingsild sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Polish: ciernik sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Russian: Колюшка трехиглая обыкновенная; Трехиглая колюшка; трёхиглая колюшка sources: A.Boltachev & E. Karpova, IBSS NAS Ukraine;Volvenko, I. V.; Orlov, A. M.; Gebruk, A. V.; Katugin, O. N.; Ogorodnikova, A. A.; Vinogradov, G. M.; Maznikova, O. A. (2019). Checklist of the trawl macrofauna from the North Pacific and adjacent seas with information about fishery importance, potential product yield, and price range, supplement to: Volvenko, Igor V; Orlov, Alexei M; Gebruk, Andrey V; Katugin, Oleg N; Ogorodnikova, Alla A; Vinogradov, Georgy M; Maznikova, Olga A (in prep.): Trawl macrofauna of the Far-Eastern Seas and North Pacific: proportion of commercial species, potential product yield, and price rang. Earth System Science Data. PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science.;PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Slovenian: zet sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Spanish, Castillian: espinocho sources: Nelson, J.S.; Crossman, E.J.; Espinosa-Pérez, H.; Findley, L.T.; Gilbert, C.R.; Lea, R.N.; Williams, J.D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada and Mexico Special Publication. American Fisheries Society, 29 American Fisheries Society: Bethesda. ISBN 1-888569-61-1. 386 + CD-Rom pp.

Swedish: storspigg sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Turkish: dikence baligi; dikence balığı sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Ukrainian: Колючка триголкова звичайна; Триголкова колючка звичайна sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Welsh: crothell dri phigyn

Literature

original description	Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [The system of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places.]. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. 1(10) [iii], 824 p.
basis of record	van der Land, J.; Costello, M.J.; Zavodnik, D.; Santos, R.S.; Porteiro, F.M.; Bailly, N.; Eschmeyer, W.N.; Froese, R. (2001). Pisces, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 357-374
additional source	Hayward, P.J. & J.S. Ryland (Eds.). (1990). The marine fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe: 1. Introduction and protozoans to arthropods. Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK. 627 pp.
additional source	Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2025). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (06/2024).
additional source	Scott, W.B.; Scott, M.G. (1988). Atlantic fishes of Canada. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. No. 219. 731 pp.
additional source	Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
ecology source	Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1).

Genbank

External Links

FishBase
Marine Life Information Network - UK
FishBase images (Gasterosteus aculeatus, by Busse, K.)

Citation

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. (2025). FishBase. Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758. Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:126505

Dr. Jorg Freyhof. Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: Fauna Europaea at https://portal.cybertaxonomy.org/fauna-europaea/cdm_dataportal/taxon/8f193e1b-d2be-4281-8a6a-e48a2250b388