UK species list - 99 up!

[j_s]

Excellent stuff! I have fun no matter what I catch as long as it's a fish

[mike1234]

there is a small stream that runs past one of the farm pools that i fish that has loads of 3 spined sticklebacks, i used to take my little nephew along with his net and a bucket to see how many we could catch before putting them back

 

some of them have really nice markings sort of like a mackerel if they where any bigger i bet they would put up a hell of a scrap

 

is there not a 3rd marine species of stickleback in the uk or am i getting confused with something else?

[Davy Holt]

Hiya,

is there not a 3rd marine species of stickleback in the uk or am i getting confused with something else?

 

 

We have 3 species, the 3 spined (Gasterostreus aculeatus), the 10 Spined (Pungitius pungitius) and the 15 Spined (Spinachia spinachia)

[Vagabond]

it looks like a pike in shape. Are they they from the same family?

 

Nope - the sticklebacks' nearest relatives are the pipefishes and seahorses!

[Vagabond]

Hiya,

 

 

 

We have 3 species, the 3 spined (Gasterostreus aculeatus), the 10 Spined (Pungitius pungitius) and the 15 Spined (Spinachia spinachia)

 

 

Yup, and I now have the set , although I had to go to Scotland (western shore of South Uist) to catch my 15-spined.

 

Nelson's Fishes of the World reckons there are only 7 stickleback species world wide, although some of them (like the 3-spined) are split into umpteen sub-species.

 

Re the previous post (reply to Lutra), the 15-spined looks very like a pipefish.

 

Some of the biggest 3-spined I have ever seen live in the brackish wee burns around Kilninver, south of Oban.

[Davy Holt]

Hiya Dave,

Yup, and I now have the set , although I had to go to Scotland (western shore of South Uist) to catch my 15-spined.

 

You didnt need to go that far, you can get them down the side of the Stone pier at Lochaline.. that's where I got mine

 

Some of the biggest 3-spined I have ever seen live in the brackish wee burns around Kilninver, south of Oban.

 

Yup they seem to be like that all over the West Coast.

[Dick Dastardly]

Nice one Dave.I bet locating that one was a lot harder than many of the bigger fish you have caught.