Darwin's Fishes
An Encyclopedia of Ichthyology, Ecology, and Evolution

An encyclopaedia of ichthyology, ecology, and evolution, based upon everything that Darwin ever wrote about fish.

Daniel Pauly (Author)

9780521535038, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 August 2007

368 pages, 43 b/w illus.
24.5 x 18.8 x 1.8 cm, 0.665 kg

'One of the book's great advantages is that it is crosslinked and self-referencing. … It will appeal in particular to historians of biology, who understand the place fish have in the development of evolutionary ideas. Fishery and marine biologists will also have access to Darwin's work through the listing of single fish species, morphological terms, chemical substances, scientists, etc. Pauly has, with his publication, given an exciting and engaging portrayal of Darwin's publications and ideas. This approach deals not only with the ichthyological works of Darwin, but also demonstrates how important fish were to the development of the theory of evolution by natural selection.' History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences

In Darwin's Fishes, Daniel Pauly presents an encyclopaedia of ichthyology, ecology and evolution, based upon everything that Charles Darwin ever wrote about fish. Entries are arranged alphabetically and can be about, for example, a particular fish taxon, an anatomical part, a chemical substance, a scientist, a place, or an evolutionary or ecological concept. The reader can start wherever they like and are then led by a series of cross-references on a fascinating voyage of interconnected entries, each indirectly or directly connected with original writings from Darwin himself. Along the way, the reader is offered interpretation of the historical material put in the context of both Darwin's time and that of contemporary biology and ecology. This book is intended for anyone interested in fishes, the work of Charles Darwin, evolutionary biology and ecology, and natural history in general.

List of figures
Foreword J. S. Nelson
Preface and acknowledgements
Conventions used in the text
Darwin and ichthyology
Darwin's fishes: a dry run
Entries (A to ZZZ)
Appendix I. Fish in spirits of wine Jacqueline McGlade
Appendix II. Fish of the Beagle in the BMNH
Appendix III. Checklist of fish specimens, identified as collected by Charles Darwin on the Beagle voyage, that ought to be present in the collections of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge Adrian Friday
Bibliography
Index to the fishes.

Subject Areas: Fishes [ichthyology PSVW1], Marine biology [PSPM], Freshwater biology [PSPF], Evolution [PSAJ], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF], History of science [PDX]