The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world and contains over 15 percent of all known species of marine fishes. This diverse fish fauna has been the subject of many publications, but, until now, no work has ever surveyed all known species, including the deep sea fishes and those of the southern Gulf. This book is the first of two volumes that will cover the entire fish fauna of the Gulf of Mexico. An introductory section that outlines the Gulf's geographical setting, geological origin, current patterns, tides, sediments, meteorology, ecology, and biological exploration is followed by a key for the forty-four orders of fishes known from the Gulf. Keys and descriptions are provided for families, which are arranged phylogenetically, and for the species, which are arranged alphabetically, described, and distinguished from similar species. All but a few species are illustrated.

This work reveals the astounding diversity of Alabama's fishes through colour plates by Joseph Tomelleri and detailed information from the authors. These two leading scientists (Boschung is co-editor of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales, and Dolphins) have dedicated years to documenting the diets, growth rates, reproduction, sizes, distribution, and status of Alabama's fishes, and they present this wealth of information in a helpful user-friendly format. Keys to the species provide fast, accurate identification and allow anglers to determine the species of fish they have just caught. Ideal for everyone interested in the diversity of our world.

Volume 5 offers an all-inclusive and complete update of the four previously published volumes.--

An authoritative guide to the identification, systematics, distribution, and biology of the thirty-eight species of the Order Beloniformes in the western North Atlantic Ocean The final volume in the Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series covers the Beloniformes, a diverse order of fishes containing six families and at least two hundred and thirty extant species found worldwide in marine and freshwater environments. This excellently illustrated, authoritative book describes the thirty-eight species of beloniform fishes—needlefishes, sauries, halfbeaks, and flyingfishes—that live in the western Atlantic Ocean. Compiled from new revisions, original research, and critical reviews of existing information, this tenth book in the series completes a major reference work in taxonomy and ichthyology for both amateurs and professionals, and all students of the sea.

The highly anticipated second volume of Freshwater Fishes of North America, a monumental, fully illustrated reference that provides comprehensive details on the freshwater fishes of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. When the first volume of Freshwater Fishes of North America was published, it was immediately hailed as the definitive reference in the field. Readers have been fervently awaiting the next volume in this encompassing three-book set ever since. Now complete, volume 2, covering families Characidae to Poeciliidae, is the result of decades of analysis by leading fish experts from universities and research laboratories across North America. Each volume in this authoritative synthesis covers the ecology, morphology, reproduction, distribution, behavior, taxonomy, conservation, and the fossil record of the included North American fish families. The encyclopedic reviews of each family are accompanied by color photographs (nearly 250 in this volume alone), range maps, and artwork created by noted fish illustrator Joseph R. Tomelleri. The result is a rich textual and visual experience that covers everything known about the diversity, natural history, ecology, and biology of North American freshwater fishes. Volume 2 covers the following North American families of fishes: Characidae (Characins) Ictaluridae (North American Catfishes) Ariidae (Sea Catfishes) Heptapteridae (Three-barbeled Catfishes) Osmeridae (Smelts) Esociformes (Esocidae, Pikes and Umbridae, Mudminnows) Percopsidae (Trout-perches) Amblyopsidae (Cavefishes) Aphredoderidae (Pirate Perches) Gadidae (Cods and Cuskfishes) Mugilidae (Mullets) Atherinopsidae (New World Silversides) Beloniformes (Needlefishes and Halfbeaks) Rivulidae (New World Rivulines) Profundulidae (Middle American Killifishes) Goodeidae (Goodeids) Fundulidae (Topminnows) Cyprinodontidae (Pupfishes) Poeciliidae (Livebearers) The chapter authors of Volume 2 are: Gianetta Adams Clyde Barbour Micah Bennett Ricardo Bentancur-R. Peter B. Z. Berendzen Brooks M. Burr Mollie Cashner Robert C. Cashner Bruce B. Collette Matthew Davis Alice F. Echelle Anthony A. Echelle Fernando Galvez Michael Ghedotti Nicholas Gidmark Terry Grande Robert L. Hopkins Lauren M. Kuehne Frank McCormick Norman Mercado-Silva Ann U. O'Connell Martin T. O'Connell Julian D. Olden Claudia Patricia Ornelas-Garcia Mark Sabaj Perez Kyle R. Piller Steven Powers Jacob Schaefer Juan J. Schmitter-Soto Andrew M. Simons Roger A. Tabor Cheryl Thiele Matthew Thomas Melvin L. Warren, Jr. Mark V. H. Wilson