Other editions of book The fishes

A fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary world of fishes is provided by this fact-filled and beautifully illustrated volume. The fishes outdo the land-living back-boned animals in many ways. They are much older as a group and, in fact, were the ancestors of all land animals. Despite this age they are still evolving; there are many more species of fishes than of back-boned land animals, and new kinds are being discovered all the time.Fishes live in a fantastic variety of habitats, from the darkest depths of the ocean to the boundless surface of the open sea. They are found from the tropics to the poles, in muddy bays and rushing rivers - even in caves, where blind and colorless fish live as deep as a thousand feet underground. Some fishes spend part of their lives out of the water and will drown if kept submerged; some hibernate in mud cocoons when their pools dry up, while others travel overland to find new watery homes. Wherever they live, fishes have become marvelously adapted to the different environments of which they are a part. No wonder they are so many and so diverse.For man, fishes not only provide a major source of sport and recreation, they also provide by far the greatest wildlife crop. In a world where population is growing so rapidly that it is running out of nourishing animal protein, the lives of millions of people may depend on the proper harvesting of fish as food.- Carl L. Hubbs (the Introduction)