cover image The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment in Evolution

The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment in Evolution

George W. Barlow. Basic Books, $28 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-7382-0376-8

With more than 1,000 species and countless more subspecies native to the freshwaters of Africa, Asia and South America, the family of Cichlid fish are perhaps evolution's greatest success story. Diverse in color, size and behavior, these fish are of equal interest to fishermen, ethologists and home aquarium enthusiasts. Barlow, Professor Emeritus of Integrative Biology at the University of California at Berkeley, presents a multifaceted study of these unusual creatures. Like some higher mammals and birds, many Cichlid species are monogamous. In some species the size, color and health of the male attract the female; in others, the nesting site's design lures mates. Often, males as well as females participate in nurturing and raising the young, using their mouths as havens for incubating eggs and to protect their fry from predators. Cichlids provide a seemingly unending source of information for ichthyologists, behaviorists and geneticists in their quest to understand speciation and animal intelligence. They are also valuable to aquaculturists, who can breed certain species as a protein source for human consumption. In this diligent and enthusiastic book, Barlow opens an underwater realm that will fascinate scientists and lay readers alike. Illus. (Dec. 18)