Lesser Prickleback

Currently, there are very few photos of the lesser prickleback, which makes it challenging to find an accurate and reliable description of the species itself. Sister species of the lesser prickleback, which are included in the subfamily Xiphisterinae, are similar in body plan and function to eels. Pricklebacks are not true eels, as they are not included under the family Anguilliformes—as mentioned above, they are in Stichaeidae. They share the anguilliform body type (defined by being slender and elongated) and pendulous movement while swimming. Because it is in its own genus, the closest relatives of the lesser prickleback are those in their subfamily, which include the ribbon prickleback and monkeyface prickleback. This subfamily is characterized as being ray-finned; true to form, the dorsal fin of the lesser prickleback contains spiny rays. Their possible range in length remains to be determined, but it has been recorded to be 13.3 cm (5.24 inches). Some of the lesser prickleback's closest relatives, such as the monkeyface prickleback, can range in length up to 30 inches. Similar species that the lesser prickleback may be confused with include the lesser spiny eel due to their near identical morphology, especially in youth. …

So far, known populations of this species exist in the northern Pacific Ocean, although estimates of the population size are unclear. Between 1997 and 2002, pricklebacks (as a group) made up a very small percentage of forage fish catch and biomass estimates across the Gulf of Alaska, with a peak in population in 2001. It has mostly been found in and around the northern Pacific Ocean. Sources that have confirmed sightings of specimens range from Russia to the Commander and Aleutian Islands, as well as Alaska and the general Bering Sea. Thus, its distribution range is defined as polar.

As juveniles, lesser pricklebacks are near indistinguishable from the other members of their family. They are commonly mistaken for eels, as their body plan and fins fully fledge later in their life cycle. The larvae of the Xiphisterinae subfamily are unique because they have pelvic fins, while the other members of the Stichaeidae family lack such fins. Not much information has been collected on the life stages of Alectridium aurantiacum, and the only information, which is about the postflexion life stage, is flagged as uncertain. There is little to no data on the lesser prickleback's longevity or its age of maturity. Considering that each of its sister species exhibit the life history stages of egg, preflexion, flexion, postflexion (the three larval stages), and juvenile, it may be assumed that the lesser prickleback undergoes similar processes.