Prickleback

Pric´kle`back`

n.

1.

(Zool.) The stickleback.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	prickleback - small elongate fishes of shallow northern seas; a long dorsal fin consists entirely of spines blennioid, blennioid fish - elongated mostly scaleless marine fishes with large pectoral fins and reduced pelvic fins Lumpenus lumpretaeformis, snakeblenny - found in Arctic and northern Atlantic waters eelblenny - eellike fishes found in subarctic coastal waters
	2.	prickleback - small (2-4 inches) pugnacious mostly scaleless spiny-backed fishes of northern fresh and littoral waters having elaborate courtship; subjects of much research stickleback family Gasterosteidae, Gasterosteidae - sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, three-spined stickleback - of rivers and coastal regions Gasterosteus pungitius, ten-spined stickleback - confined to rivers acanthopterygian, spiny-finned fish - a teleost fish with fins that are supported by sharp inflexible rays