The Fresh-water Fishes of the British Isles

Abstract

MR. REGAN is to be congratulated upon the publication of this little manual, which should find a place in the library of every person who takes an interest in the natural history of our islands. The lack of a convenient manual of moderate size and modest price must often have been felt by many besides ourselves, and this want has been well supplied by the book now before us. Concise but adequate descriptions are given of all fishes native to the fresh waters of these islands, including such marine and estuarine species as are known to ascend into fresh water, and in our opinion Mr. Regan's work marks a distinct step in advance of any of its predecessors. The figures have been drawn by the author himself, and are well adapted for showing the salient features of the fishes illustrated; in one or two instances they have been drawn from examples which have barely attained the characters of adult fish, but this is not really a matter of very great moment, for the changes due to age, sex, and maturity in each species are generally pointed out in the text and the size of the examples figured is given. The importance of the latter information is, unfortunately, not always as fully appreciated by those who describe fishes as by those who have to identify particular individuals with the aid of the descriptions and figures given.

The Fresh-water Fishes of the British Isles.

By C. Tate Regan. Pp. xxv + 287. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1911.) Price 6s.