The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution

by John A. Long

Armored fishes and monster sharks, fishes with arms and fishes that breathe air--these and many other strange creatures are part of the remarkable story told in this book. In The Rise of Fishes, John Long traces the evolutionary history of fishes over the course of 500 million years, describes the discovery of extraordinary fossil remains, and explains the techniques used in their interpretation. Featuring more than 300 color illustrations, the book includes photographs of fossils from around the world as well as the author's dramatic color illustrations of what the fish may have actually looked like. Long tells the story of how these creatures lived and developed and why their rise from the waters of the archaic seas and rivers onto land was so momentous an event in the evolution of life on earth. He combines current scientific information with entertaining stories about his own field work in Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Antarctica. Detailed, accessible, and lavishly illustrated, The Rise of Fishes is a book for anyone with an interest in evolution, fossils, or fish.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Palaeontology, Evolution, History, Biology, Natural History

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

John Albert Long (born 1957) is an Australian paleontologist. He currently serves as Strategic Professor in Palaeontology at Flinders University, Adelaide.

Reviews

[Vasha7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even I can tell that the text is a bit outdated in spots (for example, it talks about Pikaia from the Burgess shale as the earliest known chordate, but this was before the earlier Chengjiang fauna was studied); and the author's insistence on describing all evolution as a rise directly toward humans annoys me no end, but the real joy of the volume is the pictures!! Won't soon be replaced in that respect.

[H V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - great care went into this book, no doubt. Possibly one of the highest quality paleobiology books ever! This 2010 second edition discusses fossil discoveries as recent as the same year of publication. Every page has at least one full color photo - whether paleoart, fossil, or chart. In-depth descriptions of fish anatomy fill the text, with some history. Note: This book mostly focuses on the Cambrian through late Devonian periods.

[Charlotte R.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a neat book! I devoured it. Easy to read, excellent photographs--I only wish there had been even more in-depth discussion than was presented. This isn't a lengthy book by any means, hence my knocking off one star for an otherwise wonderful book. I very highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the evolution of fish.

[Alexander]

The Rise of Fishes a relitively sound coveradge of the Evolution of fish and Invers/ Notocords. Cordates to the pressent

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous photos really make this book. It was much more text-booky than I expected. Still, an excellent resource if you are interested in fossil fish.

[Ditch Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating but very dense to read - I found it hard to keep track of so many scientific names. An academic book, but good for titillating the hard-core fish watchers amongst us.