"A field Guide to the fishes of Kuching Rivers, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo," by Katherine Atack (2006)

Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd. 200 pp. ISBN 983-812-113-4.

A Field Guide to the Fishes of Kuching Rivers, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
This is a compact volume (22 x 16 cm) lavishly filled with colour plates, covering the variety of fish species in the rivers running through the city of Kuching, the main city of Sarawak. This book is not a taxonomical treatment, but rather catered for the layperson. This book is part of the result of the Sarawak Government / DANIDA Urban Environmental Management Scheme (2002-2005), involved with the monitoring of the quality of the rivers flowing through Kuching. The baseline data was surveyed from 2003-2004, and is presented in a reader friendly format.

A total of 102 mainly estuarine species (of which 12 are introduced species) are covered. The species are listed in taxonomic order. Each species account provides the scientific, common and local names of the fish, followed by a brief description, habitat notes, diet details, range of distribution and short notes. Most species are accompanied with excellent photographs of living or freshly dead specimens. Certain species are illustrated with fresh specimens for the first time, e.g. Coilia dussumieri, Setipinna breviceps, Polynemus melanochir melanochir, Carinotetraodon borneensis.

Other sections of the book cover ecology of the three main aquatic habitats – freshwater, estuarine and marine; biology of fish; and socio-economic issues.

There are two shortcomings – p. 83-84, the species illustrated is not Clarias gariepinis, but most probably Clarias batrachus; no scale of measurement provided for all the fish illustrations.

This is a highly commendable effort, considering the author’s background in marine biology. An excellent book to have for budding naturalists, scientists and fish lovers.

Tan Heok Hui
Department of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
Kent Ridge 119260
Republic of Singapore

First published in The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Vol. 54(2): 491-492 on 31 Aug 2006

"Fishes of Mongolia," by M. Kottelat (2006)

FISHES OF MONGOLIA.
A check-list of the fishes known to occur in Mongolia with comments on
systematics and nomenclature. M. Kottelat. September 2006. 103 pp, 2
appendices. Environment and Social Development Unit, East Asia and
Pacific region, The World Bank.

Available for download from: worldbank.org.



This report is the second systematic work to be published by Environment and Social Development Unit of the World Bank. It is based on work done in 2005 and was partly funded by the World Bank’s Netherlands-Mongolia Trust Fund for Environmental Reform (NEMO). It is mainly based on existing literature, interviews, preserved material and very limited field collections.

A total of 76 native species from 14 families are recorded, with possibly five new taxa and another six introduced species, in Mongolia. A list of 81 invalid names is also given to highlight the complex and unstable situation with the taxonomy of Mongolian fishes. The systematics and nomenclature of the fishes are re-evaluated and brought up to date. This list is also compared with fish of neighbouring countries, namely the Chinese Provinces of Xinjiang and Nei Mongol, and the Russian Tuva and Buryatia Republics. The evaluation of this present report is that the fish diversity in Mongolia is far from adequate and the number of fish species is underestimated.

From this present report, it is also apparent that there are a large number of nomenclatural inconsistencies across the political boundaries. These problems stem from different conceptual approaches to taxonomy, lack of communication and the ignorance of the International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature (ICZN).

It includes a section with detailed accounts of the fishes of Mongolia, including original citations and subsequent synonymies. Each account starts with an introduction to the family, followed by the species account, with synonymy, remarks on systematics and distribution. A small section on accounts of species recorded from adjacent areas is also included.

This is followed by a recommendation section which lists the priority areas to be surveyed, taxonomy of selected fish groups to be revised along with fresh field collections, with comparative studies of related fauna from China and Russia.

A long bibliography list concludes the report.

At the end of the report, two appendices and one addendum is attached. The first appendix deals with nomenclatural data on species mentioned in the text but not located from Mongolia. The second appendix illustrates the fishes with colour plates of living and freshly preserved specimens, interspaced with black and white plates. The addendum lists more records obtained that were too late to include in the main text.

All in all, this is a small and concise publication, done up to high standards expected from any of Maurice Kottelat’s endeavours. This is a very commendable effort and an important piece of work for ichthyologists working on the freshwater fishes of Asia.

Tan Heok Hui
Department of Biological Sciences,
National University of Singapore,
Kent Ridge 119260, Republic of Singapore

First published in The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Vol. 55(1): 221 on 28 Feb 2007.