Rays of the World

Last, Peter R

ISBN 10: 0643109137 / ISBN 13: 9780643109131

Published by Longleaf Services on Behalf of Cornell University, 2017

About this Item

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Seller Inventory # ERICA82906431091372

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Rays of the World
• Publisher: Longleaf Services on Behalf of Cornell University
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0643109137
• ISBN 13: 9780643109131
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: New
• Book Type: book

About this title

Synopsis

Rays are among the largest fishes and evolved from shark-like ancestors nearly 200 million years ago. They share with sharks many life history all species are carnivores or scavengers; all reproduce by internal fertilisation; and all have similar morphological and anatomical characteristics, such as skeletons built of cartilage. Rays of the World is the first complete pictorial atlas of the world’s ray fauna and includes information on many species only recently discovered by scientists while undertaking research for the book. It includes all 26 families and 633 valid named species of rays, but additional undescribed species exist for many groups.Rays of the World features a unique collection of paintings of all living species by Australian natural history artist Lindsay Marshall, compiled as part of a multinational research initiative, the Chondrichthyan Tree of Life Project. Images sourced from around the planet were used by the artist to illustrate the fauna. This comprehensive overview of the world’s ray fauna summarises information such as general identifying features and distributional information about these iconic, but surprisingly poorly known, fishes. It will enable readers to gain a better understanding of the rich diversity of rays and promote wider public interest in the group.Rays of the World is an ideal reference for a wide range of readers, including conservationists, fishery managers, scientists, fishers, divers, students and book collectors.

About the Author

Peter R. Last is a Senior Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO National Research Collections, and former head of the Australian National Fish Collection, Hobart, Tasmania.