Ninespine stickleback Ninespine stickleback The ninespine stickleback ("Pungitius pungitius"), also called the ten-spined stickleback, is a freshwater species of fish in the family Gasterosteidae that inhabits temperate waters. It is widely but locally distributed throughout Eurasia and North America. Despite its name, the number of spines can vary from 8 to 12. The body of the ninespine stickleback tapers to a very narrow caudal peduncle and the caudal fin is fan-shaped. The body is less deep and more elongated than that of the three-spined stickleback with a thinner and longer caudal peduncle, but the best way of distinguishing these two species is
Peduncle (botany) Peduncle (botany) In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence. The peduncle is a stem, usually green, though some peduncles are more or less florally colored or neutral in color, having no particular pigmentation. In some species, peduncles are leafless, though others bear small leaves, or even cataphylls, at nodes; such leaves generally may be regarded as bracts. The peduncle is the inflorescence base without flowers. When an unbranched peduncle has no obvious nodes, rises directly from a bulb or stem, and especially if it rises apparently directly from the ground, it commonly