Under The Microscope
FRESHWATER FISH IN NEW ZEALAND (Mobil NZ Nature Series) by R. M. McDowall; Reed Books, 1980; 79 pps; $12.95
HANDBOOK OF NEW ZEALAND MARINE FISHES by Larry Paul and John Moreland, illustrated by Eric Heath; Reed Books, 1993; 150 pages $17.95
Reviewed by Judith Sidaway
These books were designed for the non specialist -- adult or child and allow the user to identify and learn about marine and freshwater fish of our country. The style of writing is good and the attractive pictures match up with the appropriate text.
Handbook of New Zealand Marine Fishes begins with descriptions of the adaptive features of fish, and the habitats of marine fish. Almost 200 marine fish are illustrated and described in categories of general similarity and habitat. It would have been helpful if the rnajor categories had been more clearly marked in each section and in the index.Freshwater Fish in New Zealand opens with a discussion about native and introduced fish in freshwater habitats. Following this is a pictorial guide to families of fishes since the forty-odd species pictured and described in this book are in scientific classification sequence.Schools ought to have a few copies of these books around for teacher reference or student project work, though Freshwater Fish in New Zealand is rather small for the library shelf.
Judith Sidaway teaches biology at Riccarton High School in Christchurch
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