''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist

Joseph S. Nelson Joseph (Joe) Schieser Nelson (April 12, 1937 – August 9, 2011) was an American ichthyologist. He is best known for the book ''Fishes of the World'' (1st edition 1976, 4th edition 2006), which is the standard reference in fish systematics and evo ...

(1937–2011) is a standard reference for

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the 30,000-plus fish

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

known to science. The book begins with a general overview of ichthyology, although it is not self-contained. After a short section on Chordata and non-fish taxa, the work lists all known fish families in a systematic fashion. Each

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

gets at least one paragraph, and usually a body outline drawing; large families have subfamilies and tribes described as well. Notable genera and species are mentioned, while the book generally does not deal with the species-level diversity. The complexities of the higher taxa are described succinctly, with many references for difficult points. The book does not involve color illustrations. The fourth edition was the first to incorporate the wide use of DNA analysis, revising many earlier classifications. The first edition appeared in 1976, the second in 1984, the third in 1994 (

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, i ...

, ), the fourth in March 2006 (), and the fifth in April 2016 ().

References

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External links

''Fishes of the World'' (4th edition) Homepage

''Fishes of the World'' (5th edition) Homepage
(includes update
classification
Ichthyological literature 1976 non-fiction books 1984 non-fiction books 1994 non-fiction books 2006 non-fiction books 2016 non-fiction books Wiley (publisher) books {{animal-book-stub