Customer Reviews

Jurassic Fishes: Selection - Care - Behavior

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first came across this book I was stunned by the beautiful photo reproductions of some of the most unusal and interesting freshwater fishes in the world. Because of this book I became very interested and now an owner of a couple of Bichirs (Polyterus) which they cover in detail about various species, care and behavior. If you're a novice freshwater fish hobbyist and want a book that cut to the chase to some very interesting fishes, check this book out and I promised you'll be inspired and discover that some of these fishes are not all that difficult to keep.

An excellent resource and reference tome for keepers of many species of primitive fishes, with excellent photography throughout. I keep and raise many specimens of Polypteridae and knife fish, and would not be without this volume in my library....it is the essential cornerstone of any reference collection on primitive fishes.

This book is great for those interested in the unusual and rare. Each fish is well documented with stunning photographs and proper maintanence tips for the hobbyist wishing to keep any of the given species. With many fascinating facts included, this book shows how amazing these animals really are.

This book is a GREAT book if you love Arowanas, Priarucu, Heterotis, Butterflyfish, Aba Aba, Mormyrids, Knife Fishes, Gars, Lungfishes, Rays and more! I found this book at the Monterey Bay Aquarium at it cost me a lot more! This book tells you how to raise all these different types of fish, everyone with its own section. Again, Great Book!

Jurassic Fishes is an apt title because most of the covered fish or their immediate ancestors were residents of the periods of the dinosaurs. This book will appeal to aquarists interested in the primitive fish, most notably the Polypterus, Arrowana, Knifes, and oddballs like the African Butterfly. It's also not a bad volume for the evolutionary biologist with a casual interest in fish. You won't find phylogentic trees or cladograms here, but an overview of the evolution and geographical distribution of ancient fish - particularly those of African origin.

Of course, like all the TFH books, the pictures are excellent and printed with their special glossy method that makes the pages stick together, but is well worth the effort once you pry them apart! The "glossiness" of TFH books often accompanies a banal text or downright misinformative writing. That is NOT the case here. These guys know their stuff and present it in an intelligent way. This will be a respected volume in your natural history collection.

This is a definite must buy for lovers of aquarium oddballs. There is also a section on the freshwater stingray. The name of the book is of course misleading as it is neither about fossils nor even the evolution of fishes. The only relevance of such a title is the fact that some of the featured species such as the birchir and the lungfish are two of the most ancient group of living fishes.

After months of looking for information on the genus Polypterus I chanced upon this book. It contains more data than all the other books I had read combined (and there were over ten). And the pictures! Absolutely stunning! A must buy for anyone who is interested in the older and more interesting species of aquarium fish.

If you like fossils, don't think you'll find any in this book. This is about Recent fishes that some people, in an old fashioned way of thinking, call "primitive". I am not sure if I know exactly why this book has this title. Yet, he's not that bad at all: it has very nice pictures about aruanăs, sturgeons, bichirs, lungfishes, etc, and if you are an aquarium lover, I guess you will find some interesting informations about care in captivity.