338 Two-spined, Nine-spined Sticklebacks 



of the Three-spined Stickleback is mostly small crustaceans 



and other small animals, including fish fry as well as fish 



eggs and microscopic plants. 



Economic Importance: None. A hardy but pugnacious 



species easily kept in the brackish- or salt-water home 



aquarium. 



Two-spined Stickleback 

 Gasterosteus wheatlandi Putnam 



Color: Green above; sides of head and body golden and 

 with dark blotches; breast silvery. 

 Distribution: Newfoundland to New York. 

 Size: Grows to a length of about 4 inches. 

 General Information: Most common north of Cape Cod, 

 usually in salt water. This species occurs regularly in 

 shoal inshore waters, often in company with the three- 

 spined stickleback, but it has also been caught on the 

 surface in offshore waters. The Two-spined Stickleback is 

 often confused with the three-spined stickleback. 

 Economic Importance: None. 



Nine-spined Stickleback 

 Pungitius pungitius (Linnaeus) 



Color: Olive brown above; sides have faint bars or blotches; 

 belly silvery. During the breeding season the undersurface 

 of the head becomes tinted with red and the belly greenish. 

 In the male the undersurface of the body becomes rosy. 



