A Field Guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes : North America (Peterson Field Guides) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Carleton Ray (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor), John Douglass (Illustrator) "This is the first comprehensive field guide to the marine fishes of the entire eastern coast of North America from arctic Canada to Mexico..." (more)
Key Phrases: row along midside, caudal fin dusky, cirrus above eye, Gulf of Mexico, Cape Cod, Lesser Antilles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The more than 1,000 species descriptions in this guide include information on range and habitat such as depths, bottom types, water temperatures, and salinity. The almost 1,100 illustrations use the Peterson Identification System for quick, accurate field identification.

About the Author

John Douglass is a contributor for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt titles including: Peterson first Guides: Shells. 

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world"s greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

G. Carleton Ray is a Research Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia.

C. Richard Robins is the Maytag Professor of Icthyology at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395975158
• ISBN-13: 978-0395975152
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,602 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #27 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Field Guides > Fish
  #50 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ichthyology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Field Guide for Atlantic Coast Fish, April 21, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a perfect resource for fishermen, scientists, environmentalists and anyone who would like to learn more about fish and how to identify them. The book has beautiful color and black & white illustrations of thousands of fish. The illustrations can be used to quickly identify fish species "in the field". In addition to field identification keys, the book also details the geographical range, habitat, standard sizes, and a variety of other information regarding every species of fish that can be found from the Florida to Maine, deep seas to coastal estuaries. This book is an excellent resource and provides very interesting information regarding both common and rare species of fish. Highly recommended reading!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must of a field guide, March 9, 2001

By	Currahee (South Mississippi) - See all my reviews

If there is one book that will link people interested in fishes along the Atlantic coast of the US or the Gulf of Mexico... this is it. If you SCUBA dive, fish, keep saltwater aquariums or are an amature or professional naturalist or marine biologist you should have this book.
The Field guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes is an excellent treatise on the diversity of fishes in this area. The multitude of species are discussed in a logical manner with valuable information presented for each. The artwork is superb, with the each fish shown next to similar fish and critical points to identification highlighted. You should own three copies, one for your home, one for your office and one for your boat.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical Peterson Guide, February 28, 2007

By	AnalogMind "Ichthyophile" (Tallahassee,FL USA) - See all my reviews

I have a few Peterson Guides (such as one for birds, and one for reptiles and amphibians) and I swear by them. I have always been able to count on Peterson Guides to provide detailed color illustrations with clearly defined identifying marks. This guide was a huge disappointment. The majority of the illustration plates are in black and white! I have no idea what possessed the editors to settle for a grayscale version from a guide series so well known for its colorful illustrations! (Wish I'd read the review below mine before I purchased this!)

The few color illustration plates are excellent as is usual for Peterson Guides. Even the black and white images are very well drawn (but tremendously less helpful than their color counterparts). The descriptions of each species are generally well-written and helpful, though not as extensive as the descriptions in other Peterson Guides.

In short, you won't find this guide to be totally useless, but it would be worth looking around for (and probably not hard to find) something better. It's clear to me that the Peterson editors either (a.) have a distinct bias towards terrestrial animals and don't care much for ichthyology, or (b.) were in a great rush to finish this guide quickly at the expense of quality. Whatever the explanation, one thing is for sure: the negligence apparent in the making of this guide is very out of character for Peterson.