David Greenfield and Jamie Thomerson have produced the first book on the freshwater fishes of Belize and one of only a few on this subject for any country in Central America. Home to well-developed coral atolls and reefs, numerous inland lagoons, streams, rivers, and wide river mouths that open to the sea, Belize has increasingly become a center for the study of tropical biology and ecotourism, attracting researchers and travelers from around the world. Because of its geography, freshwater, marine, and brackishwater fish species all thrive in its continental waters.
This volume provides taxonomic keys and descriptions for 118 fish species recorded in Belize: 3 families and 6 species of exclusively freshwater fishes, 5 families and 35 species of brackishwater fishes with some salt tolerance, and 30 families and 77 species of marine fishes. Additional contents include 213 drawings, 72 maps, and extensive historical, biological, and distributional data of fish species, as well as a discussion of the region’s geology.
Because of Belize’s geology and location, this guide is broadly representative of Central American fish fauna in general, and it will be useful to students and scholars of tropical and marine biology, sportfishing and diving enthusiasts, aquariasts, and tropical fish hobbyists everywhere.
David W. Greenfield is professor of zoology at the University of Hawaii, affiliate researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and a research associate at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He has published numerous articles on marine and freshwater fishes and is past president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Jamie E. Thomerson is professor of biology at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and research associate at the Field Museum. He has published numerous articles on neotropical freshwater fishes.
