three-spined stickleback

noun

ˈthrē-ˈspīn(d)- 

: a stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) chiefly of fresh and brackish waters that typically has three dorsal spines

called also three-spine stickleback

Illustration of three-spined stickleback

• three-spined stickleback

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The parasitic cestode Schistocephalus solidus requires a much larger host—specifically, a three-spined stickleback fish—to grow in and then a bird to breed in. —Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022

The three-spined stickleback, a small fish native to the Northern Hemisphere, looks for physical appeal—but it’s not based on shallow aesthetics. —Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 22 Oct. 2020

And its protagonist is a small, unassuming fish – the three-spined stickleback. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012

This rich history has turned the three-spined stickleback into a supermodel of evolutionary biology. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2012

If all goes well (for the parasite), a three-spined stickleback then eats the copepod. —Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2022

The spring-fed lake, where Spanish explorers camped in 1776, is now home to natives like the three-spined stickleback fish, western pond turtles, freshwater mussels and chorus frogs that sing in the evening. —San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2017

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Word History

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above