SHAKIN' ALL OVER

15-SPINED STICKLEBACK. GOOD LOOKS DON'T IMPRESS A FEMALE 15-SPINED STICKLEBACK - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WAY HE MOVES

- Nick Baker

YOU MIGHT NOT ASSOCIATE THE WORD passionate with fish, but they can be. The three-spined stickleback probably illustrates this as well as any, given the effort the males devote to wooing females, constructing their nests and defending their young. But I want to introduce you to a little-known cousin of the ubiquitous tiddler.

The 15-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia) isn't found in freshwater but in the sea, and can be encountered in rockpools all around Britain's coasts. Despite being larger than its three-spined relative (females can reach 22cm), 15-spined sticklebacks are harder to find because they spend much of their time skulking around in continuously wafting forests of wrack and the weedy fringes of pools.