Pungitius
Nine-spined stickleback ( Pungitius pungitius )
Pungitius is a genus of the family of sticklebacks. Type species is the nine -spined stickleback and Europe Terra typica. With the widespread in the Holarctic fish, there are mainly freshwater inhabitants, but some populations also penetrates into brackish and less frequently also in salt water. Compared to adverse environmental conditions, they are extremely sturdy and so is a Pungitius type often sole colonizer of small bodies of water or comes on there along with a few other fish species.
The members of this genus carry seven to twelve short dorsal spines which, except in one species, alternating left and right are the center back. The pelvic fins each carry a sting and a soft beam. A shorter curved spike at the beginning of the anal fin. The side signs formed by plates of bone is not fully formed in all populations. The pelvic girdle is visible externally and consists of a belly shield with lateral extensions.
System
As it is not uncommon for sticklebacks, the genus includes a large number of more or less different populations. Their strong variability makes, similar to Gasterosteus, a systematization difficult.
- Nine-spined stickleback ( Pungitius pungitius ) Pungitius pungitius pungitius
- Pungitius pungitius laevis
- Pungitius pungitius occidentalis
- Sakhalin- spined stickleback ( Pungitius pungitius tymensis )
- Pungitius pungitius sinensis