Standing in awe-inspiring isolation in the central eastern Pacific and harboring living organisms found nowhere else on Earth, the Galapagos Islands played a pivotal role in the development of the epochal theories of Charles Darwin. This book marks the culmination of icthyological research extending back to 1835, when Darwin was the first to collect fishes from the Galapagos. It thoroughly documents and illustrates the fishes of the Galapagos in the hope that the results will provide an identification guide for visitors to the Galapagos National Park, a comprehensive reference source for scientists, and a baseline for future assessment of possible environmental degradation in the Islands.
The book treats 437 species (some of which are newly recorded) including all those known from freshwater and nearshore habitats and in open-ocean waters within 100 km of the Galapagos. Of special interest to evolutionists and biogeographers is the high level of endemism: 41 fishes are known only from the Galapagos. In the interest of completeness, the authors discuss species that have the potential to occur in the Galapagos and species that have been recorded under suspicious circumstances, although they are not necessarily presented as valid Galapagos records. Almost all of the species are illustrated either in detail, in family groupings for comparative reference, or in color photographs taken in the Galapagos. There are 151 color and 370 black-and-white illustrations.
The ichthyofauna is treated on the taxonomic levels of order, family, and genus and species. Five areas of information are highlighted: natural history, habitat in the Galapagos, Pacific range, size, and systematics. Introductory material includes explanation of coverage; a history of fish-collection and sources of icthyological holdings; discovery and early history; geography and physiography; climate and geology; evolution and endemism; and oceanography. There are also appendixes, a bibliography, a glossary, and indexes.
