Marine Fishes of Florida, a new book by Snyder and Burgess

There is a new book out, “Marine Fishes of Florida,” that just might be the most comprehensive book ever written detailing all the fish surrounding the state. Like any good book on marine life, it contains hundreds of photos and descriptions of all the fish you may encounter in the surrounding waters.

The coverage of the book doesn’t just stop on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines habitats, but also those found in coastal rivers and other brackish waters. Plus as the books description notes, the team tackles other offshore species that venture into Florida’s waters often enough to be called “occasional visitors.”

The sheer volume of fish — 133 fish families and hundreds of species — the team captured is this book is amazing and showcases the extreme diversity around the US coastal waters. In fact, this book chronicles everything including small cryptic gobies to spectacular reef fish to sharks, toadfish and more.

The book was written by David B. Snyder and George H. Burgess and released at the end of May. Snyder is a senior scientist with CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. His photographs of fish have appeared in numerous field guides and technical and popular publications. Burgess is the coordinator of museum operations and the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida’s Florida Museum of Natural History. He is the coauthor of “Sharks: The Animal Answer Guide.”