POISSONS DE NOUVELLE-CALÉDONIE. Pierre Laboute and René Grandperrin. 2000. Catherine Ledru, Nouméa, New Caledonia. [email protected]. (Available from IRD, Éditions-Diffusion, 32 Avenue Henri Varagnat, F-93143 Bondy cedex, France; [email protected]). ISBN 2-9505784-3-8. 520 p. About $85, including postage (hardcover).—This tome opens with an introduction to the geology, geography, and waters of New Caledonia, followed by an introduction to fishes (external characters, sense organs, reproduction, growth and longevity, and remarks on “la gratte” or ciguatera). Next in line are short sections on using the book and on scientific nomenclature and then longer ones on fresh, brackish, and introduced fishes (some of the usual expatriate scoundrels: Cyprinus carpio—common carp; Poecilia reticulata—guppy; Xiphophorus helleri—green swordtail; Micropterus salmoides—largemouth bass; Oreochromis mossambicus—Mozambique tilapia; and Sarotherodon occidentalis—a cichlid). Most of the book consists of short species accounts and lovely pictures of marine fishes. All told, nearly 1000 species are included in...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
