National Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes: Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Bahamas, Bermuda

The illustrations alone would make this better than anything else on the market. Most guides rely on artists' renderings or studio photographs of dead fish. This book illustrates each of over 400 species with a close-up color photograph of a live fish in the water. Incredible.

The lay-out is good for identification; fish are grouped together by shape. That means you don't have to know much about fish to quickly look up something you saw. You can then cross-reference it to a complete description.

The physical manufacture of the book is also a plus. Its small size and flexibility make it almost unnoticable in luggage or a beach bag. It's also a little water-resistant: my copy has seen more than its fare share of dunkings, and still acts like a book instead of a soggy mess.

Of the few criticisms I have of this book, one would be that the index isn't too good (if Rainbow Runner isn't listed under "R", then where is it?). This isn't too much of a shortcoming, though, given that a field guide is usually used to identify species by appearence, not the other way around.

If you plan on observing fish in this region, I highly recommend this book.


OK, But Paul Humann's Book is Much Better   January 20, 2005
Kathryn L. Evans (Caroga Lake, New York United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

A few years ago, I bought the Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes and found when I tried to use it in the Florida Keys that there were many fish I couldn't identify. People recommended I buy Paul Humann's book, "Reef Fish Identification." The book is more expensive, but I found it to be far more comprehensive and user friendly. For example, many fish look entirely different when in their "juvenile," "initial" or "terminal" phase, and the "Reef Fish Identification" book has clear photos of each of the three stages shown beside each other, and frequently includes photos of alternate color phases as well. The Audubon book usually just shows a picture of the fish in just one phase, and often not a terribly good photo at that. Next to each photo in the Humann book is an excellent line drawing of the fish, highlighting and labeling which features of a fish are most dependable for identification. The Audubon book includes no such diagrams to aid identification. Finally, the Humann book is based upon both an extensive bibliography and collaboration with field biologists, and if the detailed descriptions in his book of definitive features for discriminating species of fish are correct (and experienced scuba divers tell me they are correct) then some of the pictures in the Audubon guide are actually even misidentified as to species. For example, the Audubon picture labeled as a "Leopard Goby" is almost certainly a picture of an "Orange-sided Goby" (if the Humann book is correct about dark lines outlining the orange rectangles being a reliable discriminating feature). If there were no other reef fish identification book available, I would have given the Audubon book more stars, I am usually a great fan of the Audubon Field Guide series, but in comparison with the Humann book it just doesn't rate very well. I should add that I have never met, nor have any private or professional association with, the author of either of these books, so my opinion is not biased by any such affiliation.
Finally, I should add that I am pleased nevertheless to own both of these books because, for many species of fish, fish of the same species can be found in a wide variety of colors and patterns, so you can never study too many photos to get a handle on the range of appearances possible for any given species. Buy the Humann book if you can just afford one book, but owning both books is even better!


Pretty Good   June 1, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book contains wonderful photographs of many tropical marine species. Some of the descriptions of the species, though, use complicated terminology and can be confusing. Other than that, all the features are excellent. After the description of each family of fish, there is a list of genera in that family and information on those genera. Also, each species has its own range map. Species that do not have a photograph are also described briefly. A pretty good book, especially since it has information on so many fish including sharks, rays, eels, and others.


divingnut   May 16, 2001
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I did find this book very useful, however it is slightly cumbersome to use if you are in a hurry (on the dive boat between sites) so be sure to write down your description of what you saw and look it up later in your hotel. The photos are fairly good (some are a little dark for my taste) and really useful for a beginning diver or snorkler. I would buy it again and plan on getting the campanion Coral Reefs.