Freshwater Fish: The Natural History of Over 160 Native European Species (Hardcover)

Angler and natural historian Malcolm Greenhalgh's study of native European freshwater fish, their habitats, breeding and behaviour--including the extraordinary symbiotic relationship between the Bitterling and the freshwater Mussel--is a delightful and definitive illustrated guide to the complex jigsaw of life in Europe's lakes and rivers.

From the well-known to the obscure, the Pike to the Danube Gudgeon, over 160 species are featured, with each individual profile of habits and habitats richly illustrated with photographs and Stuart Carter's beautiful painted studies.

Evolutionary analysis and illustrated overviews of river, lake and canal aquatic communities put the species in context, perfectly complementing the detailed information on the characteristics that distinguish individual specimens.

Drawing on a lifetime's experience in the field, Greenhalgh's guide to fish identification is a detailed, authoritative aid to discriminating between tricky pairings like the Roach and Rudd and a welcome invitation to explore the diversity of European freshwater fauna. Maintaining an elegant balance between a readable, coffee-table book and a serious reference work, the result is a treat for amateur and professional, angler and naturalist alike. --Alex Hankin

Synopsis
European lakes, rivers, reservoirs and canals are home to a huge number of fish species. In this book, Malcolm Greenhalgh explores over 160 species, from primitive lamprey to the Atlantic salmon and from the massive sturgeon to the tiny guppy. Understanding fish is the key to finding them, and the author therefore explains the appearance, range, habitat, courtship, breeding, life-cycle and feeding behaviour of each species. The book is organized by fish family and closely related species are grouped together, so that minor differences in appearance or behaviour can be easily recognized. The author also explores the conservation issues that threaten fish throughout Europe, including the effects of introducing fish to areas where they would not occur naturally, as well as pollution and over-fishing.