Quantity:


	Amazon Prime free trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn more

More Buying Choices

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Get a �1.85 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card

Share your own customer images

Search inside this book

Tell the Publisher!
I�d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment in Evolution [Paperback]

George Barlow (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

RRP:	�10.99
Price:	�10.77 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Deal Price:
You Save:	�0.22 (2%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, May 30? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Hardcover	--		--	--
Paperback	�10.77		--	--

Trade In this Item for up to �1.85

Trade in The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment in Evolution for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to �1.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra �5 when you trade in books worth �10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.

› See more product promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Lake Malawi Cichlids: Everything About Their Histor... by Mark Smith
4.6 out of 5 stars (7)

�5.99
Cichlids: Everything About Purchase, Care, Nutriti... by Georg Zurlo
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

�5.99
The PocketProfessional Guide to Cichlids... by David E. Boruchowitz
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)

�17.86
At the Water's Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales... by Carl Zimmer
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)

�8.99
Interpet Bumper Guide to Tropical Cichlids by David Sands
3.5 out of 5 stars (2)
Malawi Cichlids (Aquaguide) by Peter Bredell
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

Product details

Paperback: 360 pages
Publisher: Basic Books; New edition edition (14 Feb 2002)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0738205281
ISBN-13: 978-0738205281
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.5 x 2.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 642,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #95 in Books > Science & Nature > Nature > Wild Animals > Aquatic Creatures > Fish

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

› Visit Amazon's George W. Barlow Page

Product Description

Cichlid fishes are amazing creatures. In terms of sheer number of species, they are the most successful of all families of vertebrate animals, and the extent and speed with which they have evolved in some African lakes has made them the darlings of evolutionary biologists. With warmth and wit, Barlow describes the remarkably high intelligence of these fishes, their complex mating and parenting rituals, their bizarre feeding and fighting habits, and their highly unusual adaptations. A celebration of their diversity, The Cichlid Fishes is also a marvelous exploration of how these animals might help resolve the age-old puzzle of how species arise and evolve.

About the Author

George W. Barlow is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California at Berkeley.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
ou study what?" said the woman seated next to me on the airplane. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

fish(1)

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Lake Malawi Cichlids: Everything About Their History, Setting Up an Aquarium, Health Concerns, and Spawning (Pet Owner's Manual) by Mark Smith Paperback
4.6 out of 5 stars (7)

�5.99

Lake Tanganyikan Cichlids (Pet Owners Manual) by Mark Smith Paperback
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)

�5.99

Cichlids: Everything About Purchase, Care, Nutrition, Reproduction and Behavior (Complete Pet Owner's Manual) by Georg Zurlo Paperback
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)

�5.99

The PocketProfessional Guide to Cichlids (Pocketprofessional) by David E. Boruchowitz Paperback
3.0 out of 5 stars (1)

�17.86

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

5 star

4 star

3 star

2 star

1 star

1 review

5.0 out of 5 stars

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

Cichlids are awsome! 28 Feb 2009

By AJ Higgins

Format:Paperback

Although I am yet to read the majority of the well known natural history books out there, I have read some of the most acclaimed, and this one is right up there. The author is unbiased, and yet still presents the content in a personal and descriptive manner which really makes you think. The topic is interesting enough anyway. These fish are truly amazing, I guarantee there will be at least one thing in this book which blows you away, unless you happen to know these fish extremely well! For me every chapter was a revelation, having only read very little about any fishes before. Well worth a read for anyone interested in evolution.

Comment |

Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

› See the customer review

Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 12 reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

excellent treatment of cichlid behavior 8 Dec 2003

By Currahee - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Cichlid fishes are one of the most diverse groups of animals in the world, this is partially an artifact of their distribution in rift lakes. This isolation in a diverse environment has led them to evolve to fill a myriad of ecological niches. They are also one of the most popular groups of aquarium fishes and their behavior and diversity is of interest to a large number of people. That is why this book, a scientific treatment of their behavior can be produced for a larger audience. As such this is perhaps the best book, available to the lay reader, on fish behavior.

George Barlow is (was) a fish behaviorist at UC Berkeley. In this volume he explains the complex behaviors of mate selection, territoriality, feeding, and the rearing of offspring in this well studied group. He also discusses their diversity and, sadly, has to address their conservation (as the their home is being lost to several environmental factors). This book is interesting and well written. However, it is probably only of interest to the most serious cichlid hobbyist, or persons with a special interest in fish behavior in general.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

Excellent addition the natural history collection! 8 Feb 2003

By Kirby Adams - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover

The first thing that needs to be said about this book is that it is NOT a book about keeping cichlids in aquariums. I think that is a misconception some people may get since cichlids are such popular aquarium subjects. If you're looking for information on cichlids in the aquarium, you need to hunt down books by Paul Loiselle or Ad Konings. This is a book about evolutionary science.

The cichlids are really the animal darlings of the evolution field in the same sense that the Galapagos Islands are the geographical Mecca. This book focuses on cichlids from the African Great Lakes: Malawi., Victoria, and Tanganyika. The populations in these lakes have been isolated and thus present a wonderful living experiment in evolution and speciation. The New World members of Cichlidae aren't forgotten - there's plenty of examples from them too.

The text doesn't delve too deeply into scientific theory. It's still a relatively easy read for the layperson. Its aim is to explain why the cichlids fascinate biologists and evolutionists - without getting overly technical. It achieves that goal admirably.

The bibliography is worth the cover price. There are 23 pages of small-print references and a numerical guide to citations by chapter.

If you're an aquarist with an interest in the science behind the fish, a scientist with little experience with fish or evolution, or a "normal" person wondering what all the fuss is about, this is a good choice.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

The Cichlid Fishes 30 Dec 2000

By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover

As a "liberal arts type", I seldom read books on science - but once started on this one, I could hardly bring myself to put it down. It is a joy from beginning to end. Barlow's knowledge of cichlids is vast and he shares it with us in a clear and readable way. You'll be fascinated as you learn about these little creatures who can change their sex overnight, who feed with an amazingly complex arrangement of jaws and teeth, and whose parenting skills should be the envy of us humans. The writing style is warm and personal and reveals the author's wonderful sense of humor and lifelong enthusiasm for his subject.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 12 reviews

Were these reviews helpful? Let us know

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }