202 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



very short spines, found chiefly in Ireland ; and the four- 

 spined, G. spinulosus. 



The late F. Buckland ("Familiar History of British 

 Fishes ") says these active and greedy little fish are 

 extremely destructive to the fry of other species. Mr. 

 Baker writes : " A banstickle which I kept for some time 

 did on the 4th of May devour in five hours' time seventy- 

 four young dace, which were about a quarter of an inch 

 long, and of the thickness of a horse-hair. Two days 

 after, it swallowed sixty-two, and would, I am persuaded, 

 have eaten as many every day could I have procured them 

 for it." All who have watched the stickleback in an 

 aquarium know that this fish is a nest-builder, in which 

 the female deposits its eggs, spawning some time from 

 April to June, and nothing can exceed the attention of the 

 male in watching over the nest and its contents. An in- 

 teresting account of this habit of the stickleback is given 

 by Buckland. It appears that in a nest built on April 23 

 the fry first appeared on May 21. 



A large number of sticklebacks are sometimes caught in 

 the lower portion of the Thames, in the whitebait-nets. 



The TEN-SPINED STICKLEBACK (G. pungitius) is one of the 

 smallest fishes, rarely exceeding two inches. It is found 

 in great shoals in the spring. It generally has ten spines 



THE TEN-SPINED STICKLEBACK. 



(hence its name) in front of the dorsal fin, but at times 

 only nine, and sometimes even reduced to eight. The 

 general colour is a yellowish or olive green on the back ; 

 sides and belly silvery-white, with minute specks of black ; 

 fins pale yellowish-white. 



The COMMON STICKLEBACK (G. aculeatus) seldom exceeds 

 two and a half inches in length. It is found in almost every 

 brook, river, and lake, and occasionally descends in large 

 shoals to the estuaries and to the sea. It is extremely active 



