The nine-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) is a species of fish in the Gasterosteidae family. It is found in Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Republic of, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Presence of a caudal peduncle keel diagnoses this widely distributed species. It is generally similar to P. hellenicus with the following differences. Body quite variable in color, but generally darker than P. hellenicus. Bones well ossified with relatively strong sculpturing on the cranial and pelvic bones. Pelvic spines usually two, each associated with one pelvic soft ray, and some specimens completely lack the pelvic girdle. Dorsal spines 5-13; dorsal soft rays 8-12; anal soft rays 7-13; gill rakers 8-14; scutes 2-34; total vertebrae 30-35 with 12 -16 precaudal vertebrae. Caudal fin polymorphic, in some rounded and in others truncated. Distribution: Circumpolar; see subspecies. Five subspecies are recognized in this species.

1. Pungitius pungitius pungitius (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: Gasterosteus pungitius Linnaeus, 1758; Pygosteus pungitius Gill, 1861; Gasterosteus pungitia Sauvage, 1874 (Fossil).

Common names: Ninespine stickleback; Eurasian ninespine stickleback.

Diagnosis: Lack of large lateral scutes, long and oblique haemal and neural spines on preural 4.

Description: Pelvic spines usually two, each associated with one pelvic soft ray, some with only one soft ray on one side, some with one soft ray on one side and two on the other side, and some specimens totally lack the pelvic girdle (Zyuganov, 1989). Dorsal spines 7-11; dorsal soft rays 9-12; anal soft rays 7-11; gill rakers 9-13; scutes 3-33; total vertebrae 30-34 (usually 32 or 33) with 12 -16 precaudal vertebrae (usually 14 or 15).

Distribution: Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts, and inland waters of Eurasia, and Japan.

2. Pungitius pungitius laevis (Cuvier, 1829)

Synonyms: Gasterosteus laevis Cuvier, 1829; Gasterosteus vulgaris Mauduyt, 1849-51; Gasterosteus lotharingus Blanchard, 1866; Gasterosteus burgundianus Blanchard, 1866; Gasterosteus breviceps Blanchard, 1866.

Common names: Irish ninespine stickleback; western ninespine stickleback.

Diagnosis: Caudal peduncle keel not apparent in unstained specimens and caudal peduncle relatively deep.

Description: Some specimens (or populations) lack the pelvic girdle and have a reduced ectocoracoid. Dorsal spines 8-10, sometimes fewer than 8 and rarely one, two or three (Ure, 1962); dorsal soft rays 9-12; anal soft rays 8-10; gill rakers 9-12; scutes on the caudal peduncle 2-8, probably no caudal peduncle scutes in some specimens; no lateral scutes; total vertebrae 31-34 with 14 or 15 precaudal vertebrae. Caudal fin rounded.

Distribution: Ireland, southern England, and southern France.

3. Pungitius pungitius occidentalis (Cuvier, 1829)

Synonyms: Gasterosteus occidentalis Cuvier, 1829; Gasterosteus concinnus Richardson, 1836; Gasterosteus mainensis Storer, 1837; Gasterosteus dekayi Agassiz, 1850; Gasterosteus nebulosus Agassiz, 1850; Gasterosteus blanchardi Sauvage, 1874; Gasterosteus globiceps Sauvage, 1874; Gasterosteus brachypoda Bean, 1879.

Common name: North American ninespine stickleback.

Diagnosis: Short and horizontal haemal and neural spines on the preural 4. Caudal fin usually truncated.

Description: Color variable, usually silvery on the ventral side. Some specimens from Pine Lake, Wood Buffalo National Park, lack the pelvic girdle or have a reduced one. Dorsal spines 8-11; dorsal soft rays 8-12; anal soft rays 7-13; gill rakers 8-16; scutes 6-17; no large lateral scutes; total vertebrae 32-35 with 13-16 (usually 14 or 15) precaudal vertebrae. Distribution: North America, along the northern coastline from Cook Inlet, east of Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to New Jersey, penetrates inland from Fort Nelson, British Columbia to western Quebec and extends south to Minnesota and northern Indiana.

4. Pungitius pungitius sinensis (Guichenot, 1869)

Synonyms: Gasterosteus sinensis Guichenot, 1869; Pygosteus stenurus Kessler, 1876; Gasterosteus wosnesenjenskyi Kessler, 1876; Gasterosteus bussei Warpakchow, 1887; Pygosteus steindachneri Jordan and Snyder, 1901 (replacement for Gasterosteus japonicus Steindachner, 1881); Pungitius brevispinosus Otaki, 1908; Pygosteus kaibarae Tanaka, 1915.

Common name: Chinese ninespine stickleback.

Diagnosis: Presence of large lateral scutes and usually two pelvic soft rays on each side.

Description: Pelvic girdle well developed and usually two pelvic soft rays associated with each spine. Dorsal spines 8-11; dorsal soft rays 8-12; gill rakers 10-14; scutes 31-33 with 6-8 large lateral scutes; total vertebrae 33-35 with 14-15 precaudal vertebrae. Caudal fin usually rounded.

Distribution: Northern Honshu Island and Hokkaido Island in Japan, and Korea.

5. Pungitius pungitius tymensis (Nikolskii, 1889)

Synonyms: Gasterosteus tymensis Nikolskii, 1889; Pygosteus undecimalis Jordan and Starks, 1902; Pungitius nihowanensis Liu and Wang, 1974 (Fossil).

Common name: Sakhalin ninespine stickleback.

Diagnosis: Usually 11 or more dorsal spines.

Description: Pelvic girdle reduced, some lack the pelvic spines and soft rays. Dorsal spines 8-13 (usually 11); dorsal soft rays 10-11; anal soft rays 8-12; gill rakers 8-11; scutes on the caudal peduncle 5-8; no large lateral scutes; a few scutes behind the head; total vertebrae 33-35 with 14-16 precaudal vertebrae. Caudal fin rounded.

Distribution: Sakhalin Island, Russia and Hokkaido Island, Japan.

References

• Keivany, Y. 1996. Taxonomic revision of the genus Pungitius with emphasis on P. hellenicus. MSc thesis. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta. Edmonton. 98 pp.
• Keivany, Y., and J.S. Nelson. 2000. Taxonomic review of the genus Pungitius, ninespine sticklebacks (Teleostei, Gasterosteidae). Cybium, 24(2): 107-122.
• Keivany, Y. and J.S. Nelson. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships of sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae), with emphasis on ninespine sticklebacks (Pungitius spp.). Behaviour, 141(11/12): 1485-1497.
• World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. Pungitius pungitius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 05 August 2007.

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