SHARKS, SKATES, AND RAYS: THE BIOLOGY OF ELASMOBRANCH FISHES. William C. Hamlett, ed. 1999. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363. ISBN 0-8018-6048-2. 515 p. $115.00 (hardcover).—The last decade of the millennium has witnessed a remarkable shift in the public perception of sharks and their batoid relatives. Because of an increased awareness that sharks may, in fact, be beneficial to the ocean ecosystem, the Hollywood image that sharks are lying in wait for unsuspecting beachgoers has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis. In addition to numerous television documentaries, much of the credit for the renewed awareness must be given to the dozen or so books published during the past 15 years providing vivid glimpses of the natural history of this incredible group of animals. With the exception of several nicely organized symposium proceedings focusing on specific aspects of elasmobranch biology, it has been some time since a technical...
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