Paleonet: New book on fish otoliths by Dirk Nolf

[Stijn Goolaerts]

Dear colleagues,

I'm happy to announce the publication of a new RBINS monograph:

*THE DIVERSITY OF FISH OTOLITHS, PAST AND PRESENT*

by *Dirk Nolf*. 220 text pages plus 359 plates

This new book (350 p. & 359 pl.) provides an actualized overview of the 
taxonomy and external morphology of fossil and Recent fish otoliths, 
based on nearly 45 years of research by the author. The text includes:

1 – An introductory section, with a historical and nomenclatural 
overview, and with special emphasis on the great impact of otoliths for 
evaluating the fossil record of teleostean fishes.

2 – A systematic overview (with iconography) of the 1391 fossil species 
considered to be valid, and of all Recent species for which otoliths 
have been found as fossil. For every species, the stratigraphic and 
geographic origin of the type material is given, and where available, 
also the collection numbers and depository of the holotype. Fossil 
species based on skeletons with otoliths in situ, but which do not have 
exclusively otolith-based primary types, are also included.

3 – An alphabetic list of all the 1797 nominal otolith-based fossil fish 
species, with an evaluation of their validity and their actualized 
nomenclature.

The 395 plates show otoliths of over 2000 fossil and Recent fishes, 
often with growth or variability series. More than 50% of the species 
are illustrated by newly made drawings, with many of the fossil ones 
directly drawn from the holotypes. For many of the Recent families, the 
otoliths are illustrated here for the first time.

The book is not only of interest for otolith paleontologists and 
archeozoologists, but also for all those interested in the fossil record 
and first appearances of fish taxa, the interrelationships of fishes, 
and the study of feeding behaviour of predators, like marine mammals and 
birds, through analysis of their stomach content and rejection pellets.

This book will become available by the end of September 2013 and can be 
purchased until then at the reduced subscription price of 120 € (20% 
less than catalogue price), plus postage, by posting a purchase 
announcement to the e-mail address of Adriano Vandersypen, Royal Belgian 
Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) 
(adriano.vandersypen at naturalsciences.be 
<mailto:adriano.vandersypen at naturalsciences.be>), and after depositing 
the exact sum into the account of the RBINS, using IBAN BE72 6790 0916 
8116 and BIC: PCHQBEBB, with reference “1GPAL5-Nolf-First Name-Second 
Name”. Cheques will not be accepted. The book will be sent only after 
receipt of payment. As postage depends on the weight and destination, 
clients are urged to contact Mr Vandersypen for more information.


--------------
dr. Stijn GOOLAERTS
OD Earth & History of Life
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
Vautierstraat 29
B-1000 Brussels - BELGIUM
++32 (0)2 627 44 89
stijn.goolaerts at naturalsciences.be
www.naturalsciences.be
http://naturalsciences-be.academia.edu/StijnGoolaerts