ABOUT THE ON-LINE

January 2004

This January 2004 Catalog is more recent than the hardbound printed edition (April, 1998)—a 3-volume set of 2,905 pp. and a CD-ROM (see ordering information). Many errors have been corrected and new additions made in the on-line version.

Treated in the "Catalog of Fishes" are about 56,000 described species and subspecies (= species) of fishes, about 10,600 genera and subgenera (= genera) of fishes, and about 21,700 references. Approximately 4,000 of the species names are not available for use because of technical reasons. About 26,000 species are valid ones, and about 25,000 are synonyms. About 200-300 new species are being described each year.

Included in the on-line version are all species, genera, and references, along with the classification, introduction, and list of museum abreviations. Other parts of the printed version are not included, such as the interpretation of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Appendix A), and the species and genera in a classification (which can be simulated with appropriate searches), and Appendix B.

This is the first treatment of all described fishes since Linnaeus in 1758. Nearly all original descriptions have been located and examined by one or more of us. Some names not in current use have been found. Many mistakes in current literature are noted. We have also tried to determine the location of type specimens—entering information from available type catalogs, and the first author made visits to many major museums in search of information on types.