Fishes: The Animal Answer Guide (The Animal Answer Guides: Q&A for the Curious Naturalist) - Hardcover

Helfman, Gene; Collette, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 142140222X ISBN 13: 9781421402222

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011

Synopsis

One fish, two fish, red fish, nearly thirty thousand species of fish―or fishes, as they are properly called when speaking of multiple species. This is but one of many things the authors of this fascinatingly informative book reveal in answering common and not-so-common questions about this ubiquitous group of animals.

Fishes range in size from tiny gobies to the massive Ocean Sunfish, which weighs thousands of pounds. They live in just about every body of water on the planet. Ichthyologists Gene Helfman and Bruce Collette provide accurate, entertaining, and sometimes surprising answers to over 100 questions about these water dwellers, such as "How many kinds of fishes are there?" "Can fishes breathe air?" "How smart are fishes?" and "Do fishes feel pain?" They explain how bony fishes evolved, the relationship between them and sharks, and why there is so much color variation among species. Along the way we also learn about the Devils Hole Pupfish, which has the smallest range of any vertebrate in the world; Lota lota, the only freshwater fish to spawn under ice; the Candiru, a pencil-thin Amazonian catfish that lodges itself in a very personal place on male bathers and must be removed surgically; and many other curiosities.

With more than 100 photographs―including two full-color photo galleries―and the most up-to-date facts on the world's fishes from two premier experts, this fun book is the perfect bait for any curious naturalist, angler, or aquarist.

About this title

Review:

"This book is fun, accessible, and informative. In the 30 years that I have been teaching ichthyology and fish ecology, I have been asked almost all of these questions. Here are all the answers in one comfortable package."

(Dr. Larry G. Allen, Director, Southern California Marine Institute)

"With more than 100 photographs―including two full-color photo galleries―and the most up-to-date facts on the world's fishes from two premier experts, this fun, accessible, and informative book is the perfect bait for any curious naturalist, angler, or aquarist."

(Smithsonian Science)

"A concise compendium of answers to a variety of questions about fishes."

(Michelle Paddack Bulletin of Marine Science)

"A concise, reliable, and enjoyable resource, which both piques and satisfies curiousity about the physiology, ecology, behavior, and relationship to humans of this oldest of vertebrate groups."

(Choice)

"The 216-page book contains answers to many common questions as well as some unusual and funky facts about fishes found throughout the world."

(American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists)

"With more than 100 photographs-including two full-color photo galleries-and the most up-to-date facts on the world's fishes from two premier experts, this fun book is the perfect bait for any curious naturalist, angler, or aquarist."

(Southeastern Naturalist)

"A highly accessible, inviting guide recommended for any general lending library where natural history is of interest to lay readers."

(Midwest Book Review)

"The questions are asked in a simple straightforward manner and answered equally clearly. Nearly every page has an image with a stand-alone caption and we can imagine even the very young being captivated by this book."

(Copeia)

About the Author:

Gene Helfman is professor emeritus in the Program in Conservation Ecology and Sustainability Development at the University of Georgia's Odum School of Ecology. A senior scientist at the National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, Bruce Collette has taught about the diversity of fishes at the Bermuda Biological Station and the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine. Helfman and Collette are two of the authors of The Diversity of Fishes, the leading textbook on the subject.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 142140222X
• ISBN 13: 9781421402222
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216