Centrarchid fishes, also known as freshwater sunfishes, include such prominent species as the Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Bluegill. They are endemic to Eastern North America where they form part of a multi-million dollar sports fishing industry, but they have also been widely introduced around the globe by recreational anglers, in aquaculture programs and by government fisheries agencies. Centrarchid Fishes provides comprehensive coverage of all major aspects of this ecologically and commercially important group of fishes. Coverage includes diversity, ecomorphology, phylogeny and genetics, hybridization, reproduction, early life history and recruitment, feeding and growth, ecology, migrations, bioenergetics, physiology, diseases, aquaculture, fisheries management and conservation. Chapters have been written by well-known and respected scientists and the whole has been drawn together by Professors Cooke and Philipp, themselves extremely well respected in the area of fisheries management and conservation. Centrarchid Fishes is an essential purchase for all fish biologists, ecologists, fisheries managers and fish farm personnel who work with centrarchid species across the globe.

This is the greatly-expanded second edition of a book that has been hailed by In-Fisherman as "magnificent . . . the finest, most comprehensive book on the fishes of the central United States." Featuring the artwork of nationally acclaimed fish illustrator Joseph Tomelleri, it bridges the gap between technical studies and popular field guides in a volume that is indispensable for anglers and naturalists alike. Working with Prismacolor, graphite pencils, and painstaking attention to scientifically precise detail, Tomelleri showcases his ability with stunning illustrations that are both technically and aesthetically satisfying, while also capturing subtle variations among fishes that the camera lens misses. In this new edition he depicts 250 fishes, including 87 appearing for the first time (a more than 50% increase over the original edition), found in 21 states from the Great Lakes in the north through the Mississippi Valley to the southern tip of Texas, and west to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and Rio Grande. Tomelleri teams up once again with Mark Eberle to provide keen insights into the ecology, natural history, and conservation of these fishes and the types of threats they face. Species accounts are informative but not technical, and are interwoven with folklore and anecdotes. Do you know, for example, what fish looks like "Mother Nature's hand-held vacuum cleaner?" Can you name a minnow that reaches five to six feet in length? Or the fish that sometimes turns up in farmers' fields-alive? What fish has a gizzard? Which one swims a victory lap after it catches its prey? Tomelleri and Eberle reveal the answers and much more in this lavishly illustrated compendium of fish facts and lore.

This comprehensive work on the fishes of WV is the culmination of more than 20 years of res. Contains descriptions of the major river drainages in WV, a brief discussion of the zoogeog. of the fishes within the state, a table of fish dist. by drainage, a guide to the anatomical features used in fish ident., dichotomous keys to the families & species of WV fishes, physical descriptions of all fish species known or expected to occur in the state, & a glossary to supplement the species descriptions. Info. was gathered by: All major fish museums in the eastern U.S. were contacted & records of specimens collected were requested; museums with significant holdings of WV fishes were visited; & New fish surveys were conducted at approx. 1,000 sites throughout the state. Illus.