Dangerous Aquatic Animals of the World: A Color Atlas [Hardcover]

Bruce W. Halstead (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0878500456 | ISBN-13: 978-0878500451 | Publication Date: December 1, 1992 | Edition: First Edition

Aquatic animals possess amazing defensive and offensive specialisations. Many, like the shark, are beautiful to behold in their native environment. In over 470 colourful photographs, this book captures the beauty of these creatures and offers a rich source of facts about them. There are sections dealing with their identifying features, biology, and habitat, as well as a section on prevention, first aid, and emergency procedures. There are also 11 colour maps, a glossary, and suggested readings. Included are: sharks, rays, and other wound-producing animals; aquatic animals that sting; invertebrates and vertebrates poisonous to eat; electric fishes and human parasitic catfish.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This strikingly attractive and exhaustive treatment of marine and freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates includes animals that produce wounds (sharks, crocodiles, moray eels), those that sting (jellyfishes, sea urchins, stingrays), those that are poisonous when ingested (puffers, livers of some marine mammals, mollusks that have ingested "red tide" dinoglagellates), those that produce electric shocks (electric eels), and the horrifying marine parasitic catfish. Halstead is an internationally recognized expert on marine biotoxicology and dangerous marine animals. His monograph Poisonous and Venomous Marine Animals of the World ( LJ 10/15/88. 2d rev. ed.), did not include freshwater animals; his Color Atlas of Dangerous Marine Animals (CRC Pr., 1990), is a much shorter and physically smaller book than the present volume. In this new reference, Halstead describes the physical environment of these animals, many of which inhabit the Indo-Pacific; his detailed text, numerous full-page color plates, black-and-white photos, line drawings, and world maps help readers (most likely scuba divers and marine scientists) identify individual species. A glossary defines terms encountered in marine biotoxicology. In collaboration with Paul Auerbach, editor of the Journal of Wilderness Medicine and author of Medicine for the Outdoors ( LJ 2/1/86; Little, Brown, 1991. 2d ed.), Halstead has included a section on prevention, first aid, and emergency treatment procedures (with photos of people with stings and other injuries), making this book important for medical libraries as well as for specialized science collections.
- Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Bruce W Halstead MD

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Darwin Press, Incorporated; First Edition edition (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878500456
• ISBN-13: 978-0878500451
• Product Dimensions: 13.4 x 11.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colorful fieldguide to dangerous aquatic creatures and what to do if you see them, April 19, 2006

By 

Alexander M. Moir "Lt. Moir" (Huntington, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dangerous Aquatic Animals of the World: A Color Atlas (Hardcover)

I had to buy this book sight-unseen, as stores don't carry it and there were no reviews on Amazon yet. This volume is a large, hardcover book listing tons of salt- and freshwater creatures that can pose a threat to humans, from toothy titans like sharks, crocodilians and barracuda, to poisonous and venomous ones like jellyfish, stonefish and rabbitfish, and all the oddball scaries like swordfish, electric eels, candiru catfish and others. The book is formatted by type of dangerous animal, each section containing large and small plates in color or B&W and a blurb about each. Most useful to people who may be buying this book with the intent of possibly encountering these creatures is the info on typical attack profiles, attack prevention, treatment and graphic pictures of various wounds. Halstead also dispells some myths about creatures that are feared but not necessarily aggressive (orcas, whale sharks, etc.) This volume is great as a field naturalist's handbook (though kinda big to carry around!) or for those interested in the unusual, powerful and respect-worthy creatures with whom we share the world.