Helen Scales, Marcel George. Orion Publishing. (200p) ISBN: 9781399602785. Natural History, read 11/02/26, Hardback ★★★★☆

Around the Ocean in 80 Fish

I’ve read two others in this series and really enjoyed them, trees and birds, but this time we take  to the high (and sometimes really deep) seas.

A compendium of 80 sea-faring species, from Krill to the Bowhead Whale and all sizes in-between and looking at the species/family and their physiology and then at their place in their varied ecosystems and what makes them tick.

There were so many wonderful facts that I didn’t know previously; the one that sticks on my mind is that there is a species of sea slug that will rip off its own head, this then continues to plod around and eventually regrows a whole new body!!!

The most frightening thing when talking about a lot of these species is how humans have impacted on them, whether directly with overfishing or otherwise stripping them as a ‘resource’ or indirectly through changing habitat caused by climate collapse.

I really like this way of presenting information, clear and concise, means I can read a chapter before falling asleep at night without having to worry about keeping an information thread in my head.

As always the information is a great mix of serious and fun, and the illustrations accompanying the text reflect this, another great addition to the series.