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Apeltes

Genus of fishes

Apeltes
Summary

Genus of fishes

Apeltes is a monospecific genus old ray-finned fish belonging to the family Gasterosteidae, the sticklebacks. The only species in the genus is A. quadracus, the fourspine stickleback or bloody stickleback, which lives in freshwater, brackish and benthopelagic environments of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean between Newfoundland and South Carolina.

Appearance

Four species of stickleback on a white background, names displayed below.
volume=184}}</ref> The first three dorsal spines are close together and stick out at acute angles, each with a triangular membrane.<ref name=Blouw-1981/> The fourth spine is straight and associated with the dorsal fin. Its lateral line ends blow the origin of the second dorsal fin. Its pelvic fins sit almost right below the pectoral fins in the thoracic region. The species does not have scales.<ref>Bigelow, H. B., & Schroeder, W. C. (1953). Fishes of the Gulf of Maine (Vol. 53). Washington: US Government Printing Office.</ref> They usually grow to be about 4 centimeters, but can reach 5 to 6 centimeters in length.

Distribution

The species is found from Newfoundland and Quebec living close to freshwater shores in well-vegetated areas. It has been introduced to a few freshwater bodies in Pennsylvania, Alabama, New Jersey, and in Lake Superior.

Ecology

Fourspine sticklebacks are largely solitary, spending most of their time near the bottom of lakes. Their diet consists of microscopic invertebrates and plankton. Their breeding season lasts from April until late July, often breeding at the same time and location as three other stickleback species (threespine, ninespine, and blackspotted stickleback). Males establish territories and construct nests of vegetation either on the bottom or on underwater structures, Once he has attracted a female and fertilized her eggs, the male watches over the nest until the eggs hatch.

References

References

  1. NatureServe.. (2019). "Apeltes quadracus".
  2. {{Fishbase. Apeltes. quadracus. (2022)
  3. (1983). "Nest site selection by the fourspine stickleback, ''Apeltes quadracus'' (Mitchill)". Canadian Journal of Zoology.
  4. (1981). "Ecology of the fourspine stickleback, ''Apeltes quadracus'', with respect to a polymorphism for dorsal spine number". Canadian Journal of Zoology.
  5. (1973). "Freshwater fishes of Canada". Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin.
  6. The fourth spine is straight and associated with the dorsal fin. Its lateral line ends blow the origin of the second dorsal fin. Its pelvic fins sit almost right below the pectoral fins in the thoracic region. The species does not have scales.Bigelow, H. B., & Schroeder, W. C. (1953). Fishes of the Gulf of Maine (Vol. 53). Washington: US Government Printing Office.
  7. southward to [[North Carolina]],Burgess, G. H., and D. S. Lee. 1978. Apeltes quadracus (Mitchill), fourspine stickleback, p. 561. In: Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. D. S. Lee, C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. (eds.). North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina.
  8. "Fourspine Stickleback (Apeltes quadracus) - Species Profile".
  9. Fourspine stickleback typically breed at one year of age, though some individuals may survive to breed again at age two.Craig, D., & FitzGerald, G. J. (1982). Reproductive tactics of four sympatric sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes, 7(4), 369–375.
  10. Worgan, J. P., & FitzGerald, G. J. (1981). Habitat segregation in a salt marsh among adult sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae). Environmental Biology of Fish, 6, 105–109.
  11. and may construct as many as five stacked nests.Reisman, H.M. 1963. Reproductive behaviour of Apeltes quadracus, including some comparisons with other Gasterosteid fishes. Copeia, 1, 191–192.
Wikipedia Source

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gasterosteidae monotypic-ray-finned-fish-genera fish-of-north-america fish-of-the-great-lakes
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