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Glite Dictionary
Gasterosteus aculeatus

Gasterosteus aculeatus

9.9
A small northern fish with three sharp spines that lives in rivers and near coasts
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Gasterosteus aculeatus
  • The Gasterosteus aculeatus is an important model organism in evolutionary biology.

Examples

  • You can often find the Gasterosteus aculeatus in shallow, brackish waters during spring.

  • The Gasterosteus aculeatus is known for its distinctive bony plates.

  • Researchers studied the behavioral patterns of Gasterosteus aculeatus in freshwater streams.

  • Did you see the Gasterosteus aculeatus in the aquarium?

  • Researchers studied the behavioral patterns of Gasterosteus aculeatus in freshwater streams.

  • You can often find the Gasterosteus aculeatus in shallow, brackish waters during spring.

  • The Gasterosteus aculeatus is an important model organism in evolutionary biology.

Synonyms

three-spined stickleback
vsGasterosteus aculeatus
  • UK
7.3

A small fish with three sharp spines on its back that lives in rivers and the sea

is the formal scientific name used for that same species

Surface Forms

Gasterosteus aculeatus singular
Gasterosteus aculeati singular

Morphology

Gasterosteus + aculeatus

This is a Linnaean binomial combining a genus name and a Latin specific epithet, so its sense is compositional (a Gasterosteus with the property named by the epithet) rather than idiomatic. However the epithet 'aculeatus' is Latin/technical and not part of general English vocabulary, and deriving the exact common name 'three-spined stickleback' requires specialized taxonomic knowledge, so the relation is only partially transparent to learners.

Etymology

Gasterosteus aculeatus comes from old words that point to the fish's shape and sharp spines. The second part, aculeatus, means 'spiny', so the name makes you picture a small fish with three sharp spikes on its back, the 'three-spined stickleback' we mean today.