Читать книгу Marine Fishes of South-East Asia - Gerry Allen - Страница 7

Dedicated to my father, Rex Robert Allen

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FOREWORD

The present volume is an expanded version of The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia, first published by the Western Australian Museum in 1988. The former title enjoyed a remarkable success, selling 17,000 copies. The book has proven to be an indispensible reference, especially for anglers, divers, and aquarists. However, one of the shortcomings of the original edition was its limited coverage - essentially coastal waters, therefore excluding the remote reefs at the edge of Western Australia’s continental shelf. The original idea behind the new book was to remedy this situation by including fishes from the major offshore reefs - Hibernia, Cartier, Ashmore, Seringapatam, Scott, and Rowley Shoals. These areas have a coral reef fish fauna that is considerably richer than mainland Western Australia, and which in many respects is similar to that found on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. After carefully analysing the necessary modifications needed for the expanded coverage I realised that with a little extra effort, the book could be tailored to suit the need’s of fish enthusiasts not only in Western Australia, but across the entire northern half of our continent, including the Great Barrier Reef. But why stop there? The addition of relatively few species from the Indonesian- Malaysian Archipelago would make the book an invaluable reference for the entire region.

The key to transforming this idea into reality was finding a talented artist. Roger Swainston, whose excellent paintings were utilised in the original Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia and still form the basis of the new title, was living abroad and no longer available. Fortunately I was introduced to Jill Ruse, a freelance artist, who had done various jobs in the past for the Museum’s Publications Department. Jill had never painted fishes previously, but she caught on quickly. The thirty-six new plates that adorn this book are proof of her superb skills.