Stickleback

The Gasterosteidae are a family of fish including the sticklebacks. FishBase recognises 16 species in the family, grouped in five genera. However, several of the species have a number of recognised subspecies, and the taxonomy of the family is thought to be in need of revision. Although some authorities give the common name of the family as "sticklebacks and tube-snouts", the tube-snouts are classified in the related family Aulorhynchidae.

An unusual feature of sticklebacks is that they have no scales, although some species have bony armour plates. They are related to pipefish and seahorses.

Sticklebacks are most commonly found in the ocean, but some can be found in fresh water. The freshwater taxa were trapped in Europe, Asia, and North America after the ice age, and have evolved different features from the marine species. Sticklebacks are carnivorous, feeding on small animals such as insects, crustaceans and fish larvae.

Sticklebacks are characterised by the presence of strong and clearly isolated spines in their dorsal fins. The maximum size of the best-known species, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), is about 10 cm (4 in), but few of them are more than 7.6 cm (3 in) long. They mature sexually at a length of about 5 cm (2 in). Most other stickleback species are roughly similar in size or somewhat smaller. The only exception is the far larger fifteen-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia), which can reach 22 cm (8.7 in). All species show a similar mating behaviour, which is also unusual among fish. The males develop a red breast and construct a nest from weeds held together by secretions from their kidneys, then attract females to the nest. The female lays her eggs inside the nest where the male can fertilise them. The male then guards the eggs until they hatch.

Stickleback (comics)

Stickleback is the eponymous title character of a steampunk comic series created by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli appearing in UK comics anthology 2000 AD. Described by his author as a "bad guy," Stickleback is cast initially as a Moriarty-type figure, "The Pope of Crime[, who] secretly presides over the criminal fraternity of a fantastical, grotesque, Gormenghast-style old London town."

The artist has stated that Stickleback takes place in the same universe as Ian Edginton and Steve Yeowell (and Mike Collins)'s The Red Seas.

Publication history

The series currently consists of three serials (and one single-parter), starting with double - ten page - features in the end of year special issues of 2006, 2007 and 2009, and were then serialised in five page instalments. The first two stories were collected into a trade paperback in August 2008.

A festive one-off in the 2008 end of year special, "Twas the Fight Before Christmas," was drawn by new artist I. N. J. Culbard, who has worked with Edginton on two graphic novel adaptations of books for Self Made Hero.

Stickleback (disambiguation)

Stickleback is a type of fish.

Stickleback can also refer to: