Early life history / Larval Fishes
Stages in the development of Icalurus nebulosus
Syracuse University Press, 1962 8 pp., 16 plates. Unbound, punched for 3-ring binder
This is an especially interesting, and a bit unusual, piece of ichthyological literature. The half tone plates are mounted on thick card stock, with the accompanying text on regular paper. There are a total of 53 exquisitely rendered images. The text describes the methodology of study and the development of the fish. This work was issued in a folder (shown to the right), the pages and plates are punched for a 3 ring binder - an unusual for of publication to say the least.
This is a scarce piece, but well worth the effort to find.
A Guide to Larval Fishes of the Upper Mississippi River
by Leslie E. Holland Bartels, Susan K. Littlejohn and Mark L. Huston
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, La Crosse, Wisconsin and Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota. 1990. 107 pp., illus. Spiral bound. 17.5 x 23 cm.
Although larval fishes can be difficult to identify, it is often important to be able to do so in conservation or management studies. This little guide offers an introduction to the key families of freshwater fishes of the Upper Mississippi. An introduction and discussion of techniques is followed by descriptions and illustrations of the larvae at the family level. The main body of the book is a family by family accounting of about 80 representative species from the region. For each species descriptions of eggs, larvae and juveniles are offered.A useful piece of work if you happen to need it. The spiral binding allows easy lab use.
Development of the eggs and early larvae of six California fishes
by Paul L. Budd. 1940
State of California, Division of Fish and Game, Sacramento. Fish Bulletin No. 56, 53 p., illus. 1940.
Paul Budd submitted this research as his MA thesis from Stanford. It’s a nice piece of work. He details the early embryology and early larval stages of Parophrys vetula, Pleuronichthys verticalis, Pleuronichthys decurrens, Pleuronichthys coenosus, Artedius lateralis and Clinocottus analis. A review of the literature on bony fish eggs and methods is followed by the descriptive sections, which are straight and to the point, and illustrated with well-executed drawings. My copy came to me via Bill Gosline’s library – it bears his hand-stamp. Development of fishes of the Mid-Atlantic Bight: an atlas of egg, larval, and juvenile stages
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1978, cloth covered boards, issued without dust jackets
Vol. 1 Acipenseridae throuhg Ictaluridae, by Philip W. Jones, F. Douglas Jones and Jerry D. Hardy, Jr., 366 pp., 199 figs.
Vol. II - Anguillidae through Syngnathidae, by Jerry D. Hardy, Jr., 458 pp., 245 figs.
Vol. III - Aphredoderidae through Rachycentridae, by Jerry D. Hardy, Jr., 394 pp., 230 figs.
Vol. IV - Carangidae though Ephippidae, by G. David Johnson, 314 pp, 175 figs.
Vol. V - Chaetodontiae through Ophidiidae, by Ronald A. Fritzche, 340 pp., 178 figs.Vol. VI - Stomateidae through Ogcocephalidae, by F. Douglas Martin and George E. Drewry, 416 pp., 205 figs.
Larval fish ecology is not extremely well understood for many (most?) taxa and habitats, When habitats are impacted by human activities, it is these reproductive and larval cycles are often disrupted. This set of 6 volumes gathers data on a wide selection of species from marine and freshwaters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Large human populations with heavy power consumption and generation result in heavily impacted fish populations. The approach is systematic, for each taxon covers, data and drawings on reproductive biology and early life history are presented in a regular fashion. This is not as much a production of new data, but a gathering and summarizing of research already conduction. The accounts for each species included are detailed and illustrated, with bibliographies. Volume I is illustrated here.
The life-histories of the British marine food-fishes
by William Carmichael McIntosh and Author Thomas Masterman. 1897
London, C. J. Clay and sons, 1897. 516 pp., colored fronticepiece, 20 plates, text figures. Hardcover, decorated blue boards.
In their preface the authors refer to their “little book,” however at over 500 pages (with illustrations and plates) of detailed observations it is not particularly ‘little.’ Life history in their context is taken to mean early life history or embryology/development. They give us a family-by-family accounting of what’s known of the early development of common British marine fishes. Some data comes from original observations, other from a broad search of relevant literature. The taxonomic order of presentation appears odd to me (primitive fishes last).
The plates are very nicely presented, some in 3 colors.Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage, Vol. 1: Acipenseridae through Esocidae
by Robert Wallus and Thomas P. Simon. 1990
Chattanooga, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, Aquatic Biology Department, Water Resources. vii + 273, illus. Cloth covered boards, issued without dust jacket
Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage, Vol. 2: Catostomidae
by Larry K. Kay, Robert Walus and Bruce L. Yearger. 1994
Chattanooga, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, Aquatic Biology Department, Water Resources. vii + 242, illus. Cloth covered boards, issued without dust jacket
Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage, Vol. 3: Ictaluridae – Catfish and Madtoms
by Thomas P. Simon and Robert Wallus. 2004
CRC Press., xxiv + 204 pp., 63 black and white text figures. Glossy pictorial boards.ISBN 0-8493-1919-6
This series of volumes (as many as 6, the first 3 listed above) covers the early life history and reproductive biology of Ohio River drainage fishes. There are detailed descriptions of the various stages of development, as well as excellent drawings. A dichotomous key allows identification of the larvae – generally a challenging task. Being able to identify larval fishes opens up more venues to study and understand the biology of fishes, and make sounder conservation and management decisions. There several more volumes in this set than the two that I have. They are generally rather expensive, something that I imagine limits their distribution.
Anatomy / Osteology
Description of the skull and separate cranial bones of the wold-eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)
by L.A. Adams. 1908
Kansas University Science Bulletin 4(16): 331-355, pls 25-36
This is the published version of Adams’ MSc thesis – a straightforward illustrated description of the cranium of Anarrhichthys, with very few words are wasted. There is no real discussion or attempt to apply this work more broadly in ecological, phylogenetic or functional contexts. The heart of the thesis is the illustrations – views of the articulated skull are presented, and then the disarticulated elements, often from multiple perspectives. Descriptive osteology is hard, tedious work. My copy has passed through a few hands getting to me – it is stamped “Property of E. RAYMOND HALL” and “W.I. Follett.” Both were prominent zoologists in their respective fields - Hall, a mammalogist at The University of Kansas and Follett, an ichthyologist at the California Academy of Sciences.Fish skulls: a study of the evolution of natural mechanisms
by William K. Gregory. 1933
Philadelphia, The American philosophical Society, Transactions (new series) Vol. 23(2): vii, 75-481 pp. illus., 2 pls. (1 fold.). 31 cm.
Fish skulls: a study of the evolution of natural mechanisms (facsimile reprint 1959)
by William K. Gregory. 1933
Philadelphia, The American philosophical Society, Transactions. 1959. (reprint 1959 - Laurel, Florida, Eric Lundberg), (new series) Vol. 23(2): vii, 75-481 pp. illus., 2 pls. (1 fold.). 31 cm.
Fish Skulls: A Study of the Evolution of Natural Mechanisms (2002 reprint)
by William K. Gregory. 1933
Krieger Pub Co (2002), Hardcover, 416 pages
ISBN 1575242141
Here’s another of those classic works that you should expect to see on the shelf of an ichthyologist. Dr. Gregory (of the American Museum of Natural History) details the construction of fish skulls – starting jawless fishes (fossil and living) and ranging through the bony fishes. The work opens with a primer on piscine cranial osteology and includes phylogenetic reconstructions based on the differences. The drawings are well executed and presented (some 299 figures). Most of them are of intact crania - not disassembled into various functional or developmental units as is often seen. A really useful tool for comparative anatomy, vertebrate evolution or just to appreciate the complex and intricate forms of the fish skull.An indication of the importance of this Fish Skulls is reflected in the demand for copies. A book dealer once told me he had 30 people on his waiting list for a copy. The fact that it has been reprinted twice also attests to its utility and importance.
The 1959 reprint is a facsimile bound in blue cloth. The only differences between the original and the 1959 reprint are on the title page and copy right page. Comparing them side-by-side, I don’t see much, if any, difference in quality – the reprint is printed heavier paper.
There is also a 2002 reprint; I haven’t seen a copy of this version, so can’t comment on it.
Comparative cephalic and appendicular ostology of the fish family Catostomidae. Part I. Cycleptus elongatus (Lesueur)
by Branley A. Branson
The Southwestern Naturalist 7(2): 81-153, illus. softbound reprint
This work has the look of the published version of a doctoral dissertation. The authors notes in his introductory remarks that his work will compliment the work of then graduate student Jerry Smith (University of Michigan), then just initiating his study on western members of this family. Studies like this involve tremendous amounts of tedious work, observation and reporting, but they offer a fascinating glimpse into fish anatomy, adaptation and evolution. In this report, the author offers a highly detailed accounting of blue sucker osteology, skeletal subunit by skeletal subunit. The work is illustrated largely with photographs that have been highlighted in pen; in my experience, photos don’t always portray all the detail that one would want to see, and that could be portrayed in a drawing. The plates as presented are somewhat crowded. So I guess, my main critiques here are largely aesthetic. This monograph sized work is published in The Southwestern Naturalist, not a journal well known for such longer contributions. It’s good that they took it. In more recent decades such lengthy monographs often have limited venues for publication.Atlas of fish anatomy (Michigan fisheries)
by Karl Frank Lagler. 1954
Dept. of Fisheries, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan (1954), Edition: 1st, 7 pages, stapled
The Osteology of Amia calva including special references to the skeleton of teleosteans
by Robert Wilson Shufeldt
Annual Report of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1883. 1885, 132 pp., 14 pls.
A classic contribution presented by R. W. Shufeldt (1850-1934) who was a U.S. Army Surgeon and prolific contributor to natural history of his day. Part I of this work comprises a translation of M. Sagemehl’s Das Cranium von Amia calva L. (1947) (the plates are copied from his work). Part II is a further discussion and critique of this work (and others on the anatomy of Amia) by Shufeldt based on his own keen observations on Amia and other bony fishes.
Detailed descriptive anatomy of a skilled naturalist. Doesn’t get much better than this.
My copy is a separate or reprint.
Anatomy / Functional / Myology
Function and Gross Morphology in Fish
by Yu. G. Aleev. 1969
Jerusalem, Israel Program for Scientific Translations, iv + 268 pp. illus. in black and white, hard
cover in dust jacket
Here’s another contribution from our Russian colleagues, and made available in the West by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations. We have here a nicely organized overview of fish biology from the anatomical and functional perspective. There are sections on sensory biology, buoyancy, locomotion, food capture. A nice companion piece to Nikolsky’s Ecology of Fishes (1963), and like that volume, the bibliography of this work gives the reader and entrance to Russian ichthyological literature.
Functional design in fishes
R. McNeill Alexander
I have both harcover (in dj) and soft cover copies of this work.
Anatomy / Functional / Myology
Function and Gross Morphology in Fish
by Yu. G. Aleev. 1969Jerusalem, Israel Program for Scientific Translations, iv + 268 pp. illus. in black and white, hard
cover in dust jacket
Here’s another contribution from our Russian colleagues, and made available in the West by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations. We have here a nicely organized overview of fish biology from the anatomical and functional perspective. There are sections on sensory biology, buoyancy, locomotion, food capture. A nice companion piece to Nikolsky’s Ecology of Fishes (1963), and like that volume, the bibliography of this work gives the reader and entrance to Russian ichthyological literature.
Functional design in fishes
R. McNeill Alexander
London, Hutchinson, 1967. 160 p. illus., diagrs. 22 cm.
I have both harcover (in dj) and soft cover copies of this work.
A classic work which combines anatomy, physiology and natural history of fishes. This is a great place to seek a basic and concise understanding of the functioning of fishes. Belongs on every ichthyologist’s shelf.
Fish locomotion
by R. W. Blake. 1983
ISBN 0-521-24303-3
Visualize a tuna swimming at speed in the ocean, or a trout holding station in the rapid flow of a stream. Fishes do these things seemingly without effort. There is, however, a lot of physics, physiology and anatomy at play. The author leads us through the functional anatomy involved with a fish getting from one place to another. It’s an interesting excursion to take – more math and physics than I generally play with, but fun to explore, and a great example of how in depth coverage of a single topic can be presented.
Pictorial Anatomy of the Dogfish
by Stephen G. Gilbert. 1973 (1978 printing)
University of Washington Press, 59 pp., illus. in black and white, some drawings with colored highlights, soft cover
This is one of a series of excellent vertebrate dissection guides by this author. A user is led through the anatomy a common vertebrate anatomy subject, the spiny dogfish (Squalus). There is no introduction, the text simple starts with the section on the chondrocranium. The text is clear and logically organized. The illustrations are half-tone drawings (reproduced large enough to be useful), some with colored highlights. They attractive and of high quality. This guide is still in print over 40 years after first publication; this certainly attests to it’s utility. I note also that University of Washington Press has kept the price at a moderate level.
The skeletal musculature of the king salmon
by Charles Wilson Greene and Carl Hanley Greene. 1914
Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, 33 (1913): 21-59, 14 text figures, 2 plates. Separate.Here the Greene (brothers?) provide us with a detailed accounting of the musculature of the “king salmon.” There’s very little introduction or background, the report jumps right into the descriptive myology. Each muscle is described. Fourteen text figures illustrate the various muscles. Two plates portray the arrangement of the trunk muscle masses. No where in this report could I find the Latin binomial for “king salmon.” My copy comes from the library of W. J. Koster long of the University of New Mexico, bearing his signature on the front cover.
On the homology of the cranial muscles of the cypriniform fishes
by Takahasi Nisuke. 1925.
Journal of Morphology and Physiology. Vol. 40 (1) (March 5, 1925): 103 pp., 3 pls.
The author here gives a detailed accounting of cypriniform cranial muscles, surveying representative cyprinoids, cobitoids and siluroids, with comparison to some other fishes (Amia, Scomber, Perca and Esox). Studies such as this require a huge amount of work and dedication. The writing is also quite a challenge; it must be detailed and precise. The author, apparently Japanese, presents this study in English. Illustrated with text figures and plates.
Morphologie comparative des muscles élévateurs de la mandibule chez les poissons
by Georges Souché. 1932
Librairie Delmas - Bordeaux, 1932. 292 pp., 190 text figs., 6 pls., soft bound.
Here’s a volume that makes me wish my French were a bit stronger. Scanning this, I can see an abundance of fine detail on the topic at hand: the musculature of the fish mandibles. The coverage is taxonomic – starting with chondrichthians and ending with tetraodontiforms – with a little embryology tossed in at the end. The illustrations are diagrammatic, many with colored highlights. This could be somebody’s doctoral dissertation. Or just a bit of the basic science of zoology that granting agencies are reluctant to support any more, thus university deans and presidents scorn when hiring. My copy belonged to Tom Deany – and even contains a vintage 1966 mail order receipt from Anthony D. Lilly Natural History Bookseller of the UK. I wonder if Tom read it?Neuroanatomy / Nervous System / Sensory Biology
Cranial nerves of a percoid fish, Polycentrus schomburgkii (family Nandidae) : a contribution to the morphology and classification of the order Perciformes
by Warren C. Freihofer. 1978San Francisco : California Academy of Sciences, Occasional Papers, No. 128, 78 p., illus.
This is a richly detailed accounting of the cranial and other nerves of an Asian nandid perciform fish. Such fine anatomy is challenging to accomplish and to describe clearly and accurately. A work like this becomes a standard on which similar studies and be modeled and judged. There are 31 figures; I find it useful, when working through studies such as this, to make a photocopy set of the key figures so I don’t have repeatedly turn to the appropriate figure as I read. The discussion compares the nandid condition to other bony fish groups. I imagine a great many students turn directly here, skipping the detailed anatomy section.
Physiology
Air-breathing fishes: evolution, diversity, and adaptation
by Jeffrey B. Graham. 1997
San Diego: Academic Press, xi + 299 pp., illus. Glossy pictorial boards, no dust jacket issued
ISBN 0-12-294860-2
The Physiology of the Pituitary Gland of Fishes
by Grace E Pickford and James W. Atz. 1957
New York Zoological Society, 613 pp., 3 text figures Hard cover
Library of Congress No. 56-12697Well, this is probably one of the most obscure, eccentric, specialized (pick your word) volume in my collection. This is a tremendously detailed review and overview of the function of the fish pituitary. The literature cited is almost 100 pages long.
An errata sheet is included. My copy lacks a dust jacket, I’m guessing it was not issued with one.
My copy came from the library of Walter Chavin (b. 1925) who published on fish endochrinology, with his signature on the front end sheet.
