Hawaii's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates, Revised Edition [Paperback]

John Hoover (Author), John P. Hoover (Author), John P. Hoover (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is John's latest book, illustrating and describing over 500 species of marine invertebrates from the Hawaiian Islands. The excellent underwater photos are well-reproduced and the text contains complete and informative descriptions of each species. Each phylum has been given equal coverage. The opisthobranch section includes 77 species, a number of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and unlikely to be illustrated in other recent publications.... The bibliography included is excellent. This book is a must have for biologists, divers, snorkelers and opisthobanch lovers alike. Most of the Hawaii "entries" at Mike Miller's Slug Site are straight from the book and will give potential buyers a good idea of the book's content. -- Australasian Nudibranch News, no. 10. May 1999

This is THE book for identifying over 500 species of invertebrates found in Hawaiian waters--the book that Hawaii's divers have long awaited! This hefty 2 pound volume is filled with excellent photos of both the common and rare. But where it truly excels is in the quality and depth of information provided. John Hoover rooted out not only the scientific and Hawaiian names of each species, but what the names mean. He scoured the scientific literature for the latest proposed scientific names. He discovered sources of fascinating anecdotes, past uses, and Hawaiian perceptions adding depth to what is known about the animals. This well researched book is the first comprehensive Hawaii invertebrate book since Edmondson's 1944 Reef and Shore Fauna. Truly, it sets the standard for all regional invertebrate books to follow. --Mike Severns Diving

From the Back Cover

Hawaii's seas teem with life. Living creatures--swimming, creeping, floating or crawling--have invaded every possible undersea habitat. They have multiplied and diversified into every imaginable shape and form, from 20-foot giant squids to tiny creatures living between sand grains. Ninety percent of these animals are invertebrates-- animals without backbones. Many are beautiful, a few are bizarre, all are fascinating.

This book, a sequel to the John Hoover's best-selling guide Hawai`i's Fishes, leads the reader deeper into the undersea realm with 660 underwater photographs of over 500 species of lobsters, shrimps, crabs, shells, octopus, corals, anemones, urchins, stars, sponges, slugs and a host of other lesser-known creatures. Virtually all the animals encountered by snorkelers, divers and beachgoers in Hawai`i are here. Hoover provides scientific, common and Hawaiian names for each animal, as well as a wealth of information on its natural history, ecology, cultural importance, and even suitability for aquariums.

Every person who visits the sea, whether diver, snorkeler, wader or beachgoer, eventually encounters an unrecognized creature--a beautiful shrimp, an exquisite shell, something covered with spines, a puzzling slug or worm. The question "What is that?" always arises. This book gives the answer with style.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Mutual Publishing; Revised edition. 5th printing edition (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566472202
• ISBN-13: 978-1566472203
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Invertebrates
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Marine Life

More About the Author

Hi,

Thanks for stopping by. In a nutshell, I'm a retired librarian who majored in English and loves diving and photography. Combine those four and how can you not get fish books? How many fish books have I written? Perhaps too many, but it's rewarding and fun, so why not? For many years my wife Marcia and I lived in Honolulu. In 2007 we both retired to the village of Volcano, on the Island of Hawaii, where we live just 3 miles from one of the world's most active volcanoes. I still do a lot of diving and underwater photography. Oh, and hiking too. Visit my website at

http://hawaiisfishes.com

Or, even better, if you want to see what I'm up to these days, check out my Picasa galleries:

http://picasaweb.com/jphoover
http://picasaweb.com/jphoover2009

Aloha,

John

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Hawaii!, September 30, 2001

By 

Johannes (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hawaii's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates, Revised Edition (Paperback)

Hawaii isn`t just big waves or sunny beaches.
For a fish enthusiast,it is a heaven of beautifull animals.
And this book is very helpfull when knowing what animals that hides beneath the surface of the ocean.
Practically every habitat is invaded by creatures creeping,floating,crawling or swimming.
Over 500 species are identified here. Scientific & common names,natural history,size,cultural importance,ecology and suitability for aquariums - everything can be found here!
The habitats are also presented,before the ID section begins.
The book begins with a chapter about sponges,which are not as diverse here as in many other areas,but nevertheless,they are very colorfull. Then,we will see some jellyfish in the next chapter. My favourite is the white-spotted one. We also have Hawaii`s corals here. They are not well-known and not so colorfull as their relatives in the Indian Ocean,but it is good to know their names. The anemones are also quite anonymous,but very colorfull. After the huge coral chapter,the worms are presented,both the bristleworms and the nudibranch-like flatworms. The latter are the most beautifull creatures of the reef,with all of their colors,but not the cutest. The worm chapter is rather small,but the next chapter is covering the molluscs. They are very diverse,with more than 110 000 species worldwide. Both clams,shells,nudibranchs (=sea snails)and octopuses are presented here. The cowries are famous here,and I can`t understand why their shells are so famous - it is the living animals that covers the shell that are really amazing!Other shells included here are the venomous cone shells,the huge triton and many more. The nudibranchs should not be forgotten either. Their colors and shapes are endless in variations and beauty. Black,white,green,yellow,purple,pink - every color exists!They are even beating the fishes in beauty. The octopuses,of which only 8 species are presented,are rather similar to each other,so it`s not much to say about them. Then,I jump to the second of the book`s big chapters - about the Crustaceans. The crustaceans are my favourite invertebrates and therefore,this section is very interesting. Many rare species of reef crabs,lobsters,shrimps,mantis shrimps and unusually colorfull hermit crabs are presented here. My favorite is the rock lobster. The last chapter treats the echinoderms,which are highly developed although they lack head!The seastars,sea cucumbers,urchins and featherstars are included here.

After you`ve seen that chapter,the wonderfull book is over!
And it has been really great.
REMEMBER: This is just what I have told you!Now it`s your turn to dive in and get your own invertebrate knowledge!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incomparable!, July 11, 2004

By 

J. Connor "film and book fanatic'." (Palm Desert, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hawaii's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates, Revised Edition (Paperback)

Hawaii's Sea Creatures is the very best field guide to marine invertebrates ever published. There are an amazing number of species listings contained in this huge book. Jellyfish, crabs, shrimps, nudibranchs, shellfish, and dozens of others are covered here. A landlocked ocean lover will certainly appreciate the beautiful and colorful photos of marvelous creatures. The range that the guide covers seems to be much wider than Hawaii, covering the Micronesian area as well. The book's excellent detail and photographs keep the reader engrossed for a very long time. (Did this to me) Your very best buy would be the special hardback edition, which is newly updated and one of the best purchases here on Amazon.com.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, September 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hawaii's Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawaii's Marine Invertebrates, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I just returned from a vacation in Hawaii. I took this book, along with a reef fish book also by Mr. Hoover. While I highly recommend both books, the comprehensiveness and quality of this book make it a real standout. How Mr. Hoover managed to include photos and descriptive text of so many common reef invertebrates is amazing enough, but I was really impressed with how much fun this book was to read. I found myself taking it to dinner and reading (much to my wife's chagrin).