The Illustrated World Encyclopedia Of Marine Fish & Sea Creatures

The story of life on Earth began in the sea which was mostly shallow and very warm and contained a potent blend of the chemicals that were to become the stuff of living organisms. Popularly known as 'primordial soup', molecules mixed and mingled and reacted with one another, creating new copies of itself. Seaweeds have their origins in the very earliest multicellular life on Earth and have been used medicinally by human for centuries. The first fish-like animals were small, jawless creatures known as agnathans and here are examples of Late Jurassic fossils which have clearly preserved the shape of the earliest bony fish. As marine scientists begin to penetrate even the most inaccessible of ocean depths, there has never been a better time to learn about the bizarre and beautiful creatures below water. Produced on very glossy large white pages and with hundreds of colour artworks and photographs, sections cover the major types of marine habitat, sea watching, and a world directory of 600 marine species including sponges, corals, jelly animals, worms, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms, fish, reptiles and sea mammals. Read about the plate-like armour of creatures that endure the crash of the incoming tide, the reefs that teem with colourful life, and the formidable creatures that hunt in remote waters. Each profile contains habitat type, size, breeding and feeding behaviour. In over 1000 colour photos, we can meet new creatures like the Lantern Fish, Opah and Ribbon Fish, Crocodilians like the Marine Iguana, the flashily coloured Scorpion Fish like the Red Lionfish, Sawfish and Electric Rays with their razor teeth, stunning starfish to stoutly built Blenny. 256 large pages, 1000 illus and photos.