[THE BLACK SEA / FISHES / HYDROBIOLOGY] The fishes of the Black Sea Basin = Karadeniz Havzasi baliklari

E. SLASTENENKO, Et ve Balik Kurumu, Istanbul, 1955.

Original wrappers. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In English and Turkish. [6], 711, [Lix] p., plates. Slight stains on spine. A fine copy.

First and only Turkish edition with bilingual title and foreword with English (pp. I-XVI), of this rare book published after the first description of the Black Sea fishes has been performed by Pallas in 1811, containing the most complete information about the species composition of fishes in the Black Sea is given by Slastenenko (1955-1956), who listed 237 species, with characteristic features species, its distribution, biology, ecology, taxonomy, commercial and nutritional significance, conservation status with attractive plates.

"This is the book of knowledge acquired through research carried on since three-quarters of a century in the neighboring countries bordering the Black Sea." (From the Preface by Ekrem Barlas).

"This manuscript gives for the first time, a general summary of the marine and freshwater fishes in the Black Sea Basin. In the last century, a series of documents on the fauna of the Aral-Pontic, Caspian Basin has been published by K. Kessler and other authors. But, Since then, several investigations on the fauna of fishes of the Black Sea Basin made by individuals and expeditions revealed the existence of entirely different conditions. Therefore some deceased species have been described. Furthermore, as a result of the migration of the Mediterranean fauna into the Black Sea, the lists have become richer with the addition of many species which were unknown earlier.

This book consists of two sections: 1. Special section which deals with the study of the composition of the fish fauna, and its systematic and biological characteristics. 2. The section consists of a summary of the historical study of the Black Sea fauna, its genesis, and a short hydrological and geological history of the sea. In the special section, 237 species and subspecies have been described. These belong to 20 groups, 56 families, and 122 genera. This section also includes the emigrants of the Mediterranean, remnants of Pontic fossils, and freshwater forms." (From the Slastenenko's foreword).

Fishbase of Germany 90290.; Fifteen copies in OCLC 164798323.