A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes : North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides) (Paperback)

by Lawrence M. Page (Author), Brooks M. Burr (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor), John P. Sherrod (Illustrator), Eugene C. Beckham (Illustrator), Craig Wayne Ronto (Illustrator) "Primitive, eel-like fishes that lack jaws, scales, paired fins, and bone..." (more)
Key Phrases: Great Lakes, Gulf Slope, Rio Grande (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The first comprehensive field guide to freshwater fishes - covers all 790 species known in the United States and Canada. More than 700 illustrations, most in color, show identifying marks. Also includes 377 distribution maps and additional drawings of key details.

About the Author
Eugene C. Beckham is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt titles including: Peterson Field Guides: Freshwater Fishes.

Craig Wayne Ronto is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt titles including: Peterson Field Guides: Freshwater Fishes.

John P. Sherrod is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt titles including: Peterson Field Guides: Freshwater Fishes.

Roger Tory Peterson (August 28, 1908 – July 28, 1996), was an American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.

Peterson was born in Jamestown, New York. After graduating from high school‚ Peterson moved to New York City‚ where he attended the Art Students League (1927-1928) and the National Academy of Design (1929-1931). He then taught science and art at the Rivers School in Brookline, Massachusetts. In 1934 he published his seminal Guide to the Birds, the first modern field guide, which sold out its first printing of 2‚000 copies in one week, and subsequently went through 5 editions. He co-wrote Wild America with James Fisher, and edited or wrote many of the volumes in the Peterson Field Guide series on topics ranging from rocks and minerals to beetles to reptiles. He developed the Peterson Identification System, and is known for the clarity of both his illustrations of field guides and his delineation of relevant field marks.

Peterson received every major American award for natural science, ornithology, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary medals, diplomas, and citations from America and elewhere, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Golden Ark of the Netherlands. He died in 1996 at his home in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York is named in his honor.

Lawrence M. Page. Ichthyologist and Principal Scientist

Center for Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey. He is known for Peterson Field Guides: Freshwater Fishes, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
 

After leaving Greenville College in 1971, I spent five years at the University of Illinois pursuing graduate degrees in Zoology. In 1977 I moved to Carbondale and have spent my entire professional career in the Department of Zoology at Southern Illinois University. I am married to Ingrid Hansen, an artist, and we have an 11-year-old son, Jordan, who enjoys playing the piano and working at Tae-Kwan-Do. We attend the Grace United Methodist Church in Carbondale where I am a Trustee and substitute Sunday School Teacher.

Works:
A distributional atlas of Kentucky fishes. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission Scientific and Technical Series No. 4.

 A field guide to freshwater fishes, North America north of Mexico. Peterson Field Guide Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395910919
• ISBN-13: 978-0395910917
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Field Guides > Fish
  #11 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ichthyology
  #23 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Fauna > Marine Life

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finishing the Trilogy, October 29, 2001

By	Currahee (South Mississippi) - See all my reviews

It might interest the reader of this review (since your looking at the book) to know that while fresh water only represents about 1% of the available aquatic habitat on earth over half of the known species of fish live in it. I'll leave it up to you to find out why. Peterson Field Guides have a winning formula, find an expert, set them up with a good illustrator and see what comes out. This book finishes the trio that covers all of the fishes likely to be encountered by a North American fisherman, diver or naturalist. Like the Fishes of the Atlantic Coast and the Fishes of the Pacific Coast it is well organized, well written, all inclusive (of species) and as informative as space will allow. If you are curious about fishes in general or encounter fresh water fish with any kind of regularity you owe it to yourself to find out what they are. And, if you live in North America you should have this book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive guide to freshwater fishes., November 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Peterson Field Guide(R) to Freshwater Fishes: North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series) (Paperback)

This volume by Page and Burr is the definitive guide to freshwater fishes of North America, written by two leading ichthyologists. The illustrations are excellent, the distribution maps are useful, and the data are precise. If you're looking for a fieldguide to freshwater fishes, buy this one before any other.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best field guide written for freshwater fishes., March 10, 1999

By A Customer

It is by far the best field guide for freshwater fishes in North America. Each description of the fish are accurate and the plate drawings are great.