Customer Reviews

Crustacea Guide Of The World

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Crustacea Guide Of The World, althought written for the lay "marine biologist" is none-the-less scientifically correct. The book is divided into two sections, Atlantic decapods and Pacific decapods, giving the reader the ability to more acurately and quickly identify the animal of interest. Included within the text are short stories illuminating interesting behaviors of decapods. Paired with a photograph of each animal the author has provided, along with a concise description, the geographical distribution. For anyone interested in marine life I highly recommend this book to be added to their library.

This is an incredible achievement - stunning photographs of shrimps, crabs and 'prawns' from all over the world - more than any diver could hope to see in a lifetime. The quality of the reproductions and the wealth of biological information makes this a must-have book for anyone who likes to see more than just a few coloured fish when they dive. It is particularly accessible to the non-scientist and I can't imagine anyone with an interest in marine life reading this and not learning something.

Lovely book, full of pictures and information.
My criticism is there are more critters out there and so could be a much bigger and better book!
Some better books out there.

Wonderful book, full of pictures and information, a must have for any diver! My only criticism is there are more critters out thee and could be a much bigger book! reviewed by [...]

Apparently, my eternal quest to find a decent guide to western Atlantic crustaceans will remain just that, eternal! The author must be quite impressed with it as his photo credits are written in a bigger font than the names of the animals! While these pictures are wonderful, and the descriptions provide a fair amount of information, glaring omissions are the rule rather than the exception. For instance, the three most important and common commercial shrimp in the southeastern US, <Farfantepenaeus aztecus>, <Farfantepenaeus duorarum> and < Litopenaeus setiferus>, are not mentioned anywhere in the text! Nor is <Callinectes sapidus>, the ubiquitous blue crab, and most of the other Portunid crabs of the US (note: <Callinectes> is mentioned in a small blurb, though not described). None of the common hermit crabs, lady crabs or purse crabs of the western Atlantic is listed. Forget about anything that may be most common in brackish settings such as the marsh crabs, shore crabs or mud crabs! <Menippe> is listed, but a juvenile is shown in the photo! There are only two species of fiddler and box crabs listed and only three spider/arrow crabs. Even Palaemonetes vulgaris, the grass shrimp that is so common I've found them in the pockets of my bathing suit, is omitted. Don't think you will be able to use this as a key either. There is nothing that compares species that might be confused. I cannot imagine who this book was intended for, but it is useless to anyone, scientist or layperson, in the eastern US. I am not an expert on Indo-Pacific, eastern Atlantic or Pacific forms, but I would imagine the same for those regions; the book is not that big! If you need a guide to the Crustacea of the US, you will have to stick with Ruppert and Fox's "Seashore Animals of the Southeast", though it is far from comprehensive; the FAO Marine Resources guides, limited to commercial species; or the scientific literature.

This is the go-to guide for identification of crustacea. It would be nice to see it broken up into Pacific and Atlantic species.