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Frogfishes

Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology

Theodore W. Pietsch and Rachel J. Arnold

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The authoritative expert's guide to fascinating frogfishes and their unusual lives.

Winner of the PROSE Award for Best Single Volume Reference in Science by the Association of American Publishers

Unique among the world's fishes, frogfishes display a bizarre combination of attributes and behaviors that make them a subject of fervent study. Through cunning and trickery, they turn would-be predators into prey; they "walk" across the ocean floor and jet-propel through open water; some lay their eggs in a floating mucoid mass, while others employ complex patterns of parental care; and they are...

The authoritative expert's guide to fascinating frogfishes and their unusual lives.

Winner of the PROSE Award for Best Single Volume Reference in Science by the Association of American Publishers

Unique among the world's fishes, frogfishes display a bizarre combination of attributes and behaviors that make them a subject of fervent study. Through cunning and trickery, they turn would-be predators into prey; they "walk" across the ocean floor and jet-propel through open water; some lay their eggs in a floating mucoid mass, while others employ complex patterns of parental care; and they are certainly among the most colorful of nature's productions. In Frogfishes, two of the world's leading anglerfish experts, Theodore W. Pietsch and Rachel J. Arnold, bring together an enormous amount of information about these incredible creatures. The only detailed exploration of frogfishes in print, the book touches on everything from their morphology and biomechanics to their diets and habitats. Enhanced with more than 500 spectacular color images, the book also includes

• a thorough look at about 5,000 preserved specimens;
• an annotated synonymy for all extant taxa, as well as keys and tables to facilitate identification;
• insights into frogfish feeding, locomotion, mimicry, and reproductive behavior;
• descriptions of recent scientific advances, including the discovery of new species, shifts in geographic distribution, and emerging DNA sequencing techniques; and
• tips for frogfish-seeking divers and aquarists that emphasize conservation.

Unmasking the mysteries of frogfish evolution and phylogenetic relationships through close examination of their fossil record, morphology, and molecular reconstruction, Frogfishes demonstrates the surprising diversity and beauty of this remarkable assemblage of marine shorefishes.

Reviews

Reviews

This impressive book includes all of the information, with beautiful photographs and illustrations, for the 52 species of frogfishes (family Antennariidae, order Lophiiformes) known as of 2020... Every university library should have a copy. Ichthyologists, collectors of books on fishes and others with a serious interest in anglerfishes will also find this book a valuable addition to their libraries.

Based on new collections of specimens from around the world, this stunning book summarizes everything known about the more than 50 species of frogfishes. Pietsch is the only person in the world qualified to write this book. It will stand as the cornerstone of scholarship for these fascinating and beautiful fishes.

A scientifically robust and accessible book by two highly respected taxonomists. Most laypeople are unaware of the diversity and beauty of frogfishes and will be amazed when they encounter it.

The introduction traces the full history of our knowledge of frogfishes from the earliest published record—a woodcut labeled Pira-Vtoewah, forma monstrosa, representing a Western Atlantic frogfish, dating back to 1633—to the present. No one does this better.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
7
x
10
Pages
624
ISBN
9781421432526
Illustration Description
472 color photos, 75 color illus., 14 b&w photos, 119 b&w illus., 20 maps, 23 figures
Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Approach and Procedures
3. What Makes a Frogfish?
4. Biodiversity
5. Evolutionary Relationships
6. Zoogeography
7. Behavioral Ecology
8

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Approach and Procedures
3. What Makes a Frogfish?
4. Biodiversity
5. Evolutionary Relationships
6. Zoogeography
7. Behavioral Ecology
8. Tips for Aquarists and Divers and the Need for Conservation
With Scott W. Michael
Reallocation of Nominal Species of Frogfishes
Glossary
References
Illustration Credits
Index

Author Bios
Theodore W. Pietsch
Featured Contributor

Theodore W. Pietsch, Ph.D.

Theodore W. Pietsch is Dorothy T. Gilbert Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Curator of Fishes at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Curious Death of Peter Artedi: A Mystery in the History of Science and Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the...