The author, Brain Saunders, has done a remarkable job of compiling a detailed account of the contributions to Australian ichthyology from pre-1800 to 1930. This chronicle of history in itself is of great importance to the field of ichthyology and a fine achievement. However, it is the details of the life and times of those individuals, the institutions, and the voyages of discovery that developed the field and described the amazing diversity of Australian fishes that will be of interest to many readers. There is an excellent balance between the details provided about the development of fish taxonomy and description of Australian fishes and those who described them. In addition to the information provided about workers in the field of ichthyology, we are given beautiful images of fishes in the form of black and white illustrations throughout the text, and color plates in a section near the end of the...

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