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Title: Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas by Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach ISBN: 1-878348-30-2 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: February, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.95 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best Fish Identification Guide Available!
Comment: When I first received this book as a christmas gift from my mother,I was shocked. It was spiral bound,but twice the size of a norma fish identification guide. At 424 pages & 670 photos,it is rather spectacular. Although I have only seen it in pictures,the west atlantic is my favourite underwater landscape,and therefore,it was a great honour to own this book.
The book begins with an introduction to fishes in the caribbean and the ecology of the reefs. A massive ID book is needed to identify fishes on the world`s second largest reef area.
Different from most other fish ID books,it is a rather special one that is dividing the fish into groups based on look rather than relationship. I`ll go through these groups one by one in this review.
ID group 1 is Disks/Oval,featuring some of my favourite fish,making a perfect beginning of the book.
Butterflyfish,angelfish,and surgeonfish can be found here.
Every description includes a short description of colors and gender differences,if any,distribution,family,size,depht and reaction to divers,and natural habitat.
The photographs are accompanied by b/w drawings of the silhouettes.
The second one is a rather large chapter,covering the silvery,stream-lined ocean hunters like barracudas,porgies,mojarras,dolphins,mullets,and the large predator cobia. Not very colorfull,but still majestic.
The 3rd chapter includes Sloping Head/Tapered body,with snappers and grunts as the main families.The grunts can be rather varied.
The 4th one includes Small Ovals,where the damselfish and chromis can be found. There are no anemonefish in the caribbean,but these are closely related to those. Also included here are the hamlets,which are all subspecies of one species.
These are very colorfull and cute little critters. The next chapter is Heavy Body/Large Lips,including the largest bony fishes here - groupers,of which the jewfish can weigh 900 pounds!
These are clumsy,but still charmy fishes. Except 30 species of those,the little fairy basslet,the most beautifull fish of the caribbean,is included here too,yellow and purple.
Swim with Pectoral Fins,which is ID group 6,includes the varied family of parrotfishes and wrasses,which are very colourfull. The Hogfish can also be found here,the character of the caribbean. ID group 7 introduces Reddish/Big Eyes,with the big-eyed squirrelfishes and the small,but beautifull cardinalfish.
ID group 8 treats the Small,Elongated Bottom-Dwellers,whose beauty is often underestimated,especially the cute gobies. The sailfin blenny is one of my favourites. Here,we can also find the yellowhead jawfish,which is a famous fish here too. Odd-Shaped Bottom Dwellers includes the toadfish and the funny-looking flounders & batfishes,who walks on their fins!I am very fascinated by the looks of the strange frogfishes. Odd-Shaped Swimmers (chapter 10) includes the pufferfish,which can fill themselves with air,and the funny-looking trumpetfish. Also found here are the boxfishes,who are covered with armor,except for their fins,eyes and mouth. They can have very beautifull colors. The triggerfish can be found too. They are colorfull,although agressive inhabitants of the coral reefs. So are their close relatives,the filefishes.
And finally,the cutest fish in the Caribbean,can also be found here. It is the little yellow porcupinefish,less than an inch in size. The famous jack-knife is also found in this chapter. It looks like a cross between a scalare and a chromis!
It is believed to be the juvenile form of the web burrfish.
The 11th chapter is the Eel Deal of the book. Here comes the snake eels,beautifull but mysterious bottom dwellers. And last,but not least,the venomous moray eels also lurks in this chapter. The 8-foot green moray is the most famous,while the most scary one is the viper moray with huge teeth!I love moray eels,so this is a paradise for me!
The final chapter "Sharks & Rays" deals with the ultimate UW predators. But not all sharks a fierce. In fact,the whale shark is one of the friendliest fishes in the world,reaching a size of 60 feet and harmless to everything but plancton!The nurse shark is also a character of the Caribbean. Other ones included here are the manta ray,lemon shark,mako shark (the fastest fish in the world)and the dangerous tiger & bull sharks.
This is a chapter I would have liked to expand a bit,but as many sharks are not reef dwellers,I understand why they did not included the great white and/or the Megamouth.
Over all,now I have gone through all chapters fastly,but you have to see this book to really enjoy it. When I go to the Caribbean or Florida,I will bring this book and see how many fish I can identify.
So go get it!
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best Available
Comment: This is the authoritative reference for reef fish throughout the Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas area. The most complete book on reef fish that I have seen, it is easy to use and beautifully illustrated. Each fish has it's own full color picture along with a line drawing that points out the defining characteristics of that particular species. With a plastic cover and the pages treated to resist water it can be taken to the beach or onto the boat without much concern about the water damaging the book.
Each entry has complete information on the fish from size, depth, range and habitat to the level of concern that a diver should have for their safety around the fish. Whether you snorkel, scuba dive or engage in other activities around a reef, this is the best book to have to identify the fish. This book can also be purchased as part of a three part set that also includes the Reef Coral Identification and Reef Creature Identification texts, each of which is equally as excellent as the Reef Fish Identification book.
Rating: 5
Summary: So Much Fun
Comment: I recently aquired my scuba certifications in Belize, but needless to say, did not know much about the fish I was encountering during my first several dives. I bought a the Reef Fish Identification CD at the recommendation of my dive shops owner. This CD is great! I have completely enjoyed how interactive it is. I have been using the flash cards to help me and now I am starting to feel confident that I will be able to identify many more fish on my next dive. I will be taking this everywhere with me. I also recently purchased the Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific in book form and will be taking that with me to Hawaii for my next dive vacation. Buy it, it's worth it.
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Title: Reef Creature Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach ISBN: 1878348310 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Reef Coral Identification: Florida Caribbean Bahamas by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach ISBN: 1878348329 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Reef Fish Behavior: Florida Caribbean Bahamas by Ned Deloach, Paul Humann ISBN: 1878348280 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: 01 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life: Florida Caribbean Bahamas by Paul Humann, Ned Deloach ISBN: 1878348108 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach ISBN: 1878348361 Publisher: New World Publications Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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