Reef And Shore Fishes Of The Hawaiian Islands

L'ouvrage traite des 612 espèces de poissons des iles de Hawai (dont un quart sont endémiques) vivant du rivage jusqu'à 200 m de profondeur. Il fournit une description générale de chacune des 101 familles de poissons des iles Hawai, suivie des clés d'identification des espèces et d'informations sur celles-ci (description, distribution géographique, biologie). Chaque description d'espèce est illustrée d'une photographie.

This new edition of Shore Fishes of Hawai‘i updates our knowledge of Hawaiian fishes and has been expanded to include 372 species. All are illustrated by the author’s 475 superb photographs. The most important characteristics to identify a fish are given as well as the size attained and its distribution. Each species account begins with the American common name, followed by the Hawaiian name (when known), and the scientific name. Because it is necessary to use some scientific terminology when giving the principal diagnostic characteristics of families or species of fishes and what they eat, a handy glossary appears at the back of the book before the Index.

Easter Island (Rapanui) is the most remote inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean and the easternmost in Oceania. Much has been written on the origin of its first inhabitants and the enormous stone statues they carved and erected, but little exists on the island’s biota. Knowing that very few species of fishes had been reported for Easter Island, John Randall went there in 1969, with the support of the National Geographic Society, to study the fish fauna. He was joined during revisits in 1988 and 1989 by the island’s medical doctor, Alfredo Cea. They published the Rapanui names of fishes in 1984. The total number of Easter Island shore fishes to a depth of 200 meters is only 139 species. However, an astounding 21.7 percent are known only from the island, second only to the Hawaiian Islands in the percentage of endemic fishes. Forty-four new species of fishes have been described, of which 25 are in scientific papers by Randall or by Randall and coauthors. Shore Fishes of Easter Island puts all of these fishes in one beautifully illustrated book with introductory chapters (Historical Review, Zoogeography, Marine Conservation, Materials and Methods).

The South Pacific has long been in need of a comprehensive guide to reef and shore fishes. This volume covers the inshore fish fauna of New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, the southern Gilbert Islands (Kiribati), Tuvalu, Fiji, the Wallis Islands, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, the Tokelau Islands, the Phoenix Islands, the Cook Islands, the Austral Islands, Rapa, the Society Islands, the Tuamoto Archipelago, the Marquesas Islands, and the Pitcairn Islands. It contains accounts of nearly 1,500 species of fishes, illustrated with more than 2,000 color photographs, taken mostly underwater. (A few drab species are illustrated by only black and white photographs or drawings.) Species accounts are headed by the English common name, the scientific name, the author or authors who described the fish, and the date of the description. This is followed by a concise list of the characteristics needed to identify the species, the total length it attains, its distribution, habitat, and in summary form what may be known of its biology. More than 600 references are given for those seeking more information on individual species. The introduction contains a two-page color spread of the main external features of fishes. An extensive glossary of scientific terms precedes the index.