Abstract
THIS delightful book, which was written chiefly for the layman interested in the seashore, deals with the littoral fauna from the ecological point of view. No scientific account of the animals is given, but most have been illustrated and their habits described. There are many beautiful photographs, though the recurring black background does not always make for clarity, and is, moreover, tiring to the eye. The sketches are variable, and one wonders whether the layman will understand a Pycnogonum or an Aplysia drawn upside down. The Latin names should have been more carefully revised; for example, Reneira cineria is incorrect both historically and philologically. The English reader cannot fail to note the similarity between the inhabitants of the various shore zones of California and of his own country. The species is rarely the same, but the genus often is. Even the commensals group themselves in the same way, and the description of the fat innkeeper, Urechis caupo, and its guests, written in the lively American style, should be read by all British marine zoologists. For more advanced readers the species are classified at the end of the volume, with references to the literature.
Between Pacific Tides
An Account of the Habits and Habitats of some Five Hundred of the Common, Conspicuous Seashore Invertebrates of the Pacific Coast between Sitka, Alaska, and Northern Mexico. By Edward F. Ricketts and Jack Calvin. Pp. xxii + 320 + 46 plates. (Stanford University, Calif.: Stanford University Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1939.) 27s. net.
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Biology. Nature 144, 1078 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/1441078a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1441078a0