''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...

. 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 appropriate s ...

known to science. The book begins with a general overview of

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

, although it is not self-contained. After a short section on

Chordata A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five synapomorphies, or primary physical characteristics, that distinguish them from all the other taxa. These fiv ...

and non-fish

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, the work lists all known fish families in a systematic fashion. Each

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

gets at least one paragraph, and usually a body outline drawing; large families have subfamilies and tribes described as well. Notable

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

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, in p ...

, ), 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