Hornyheads, Madtoms, and Darters: Narratives on Central Appalachian Fishes

“Stuart A. Welsh has produced an excellent contribution … treating a taxonomically broad subsampling of the diverse Appalachian fish fauna in this book. It affords readers an excellent opportunity to get to know these species and the families they represent in up close and personal detail through user friendly discussions and illustrations.” -- Wayne C. Starnes, coauthor of The Fishes of Tennessee “Several states have field guides to fishes that help identify species. Stuart A. Welsh’s book takes the reader to another level by way of his personal experiences with some of the area’s most fascinating species. This exceptionally readable book will appeal to professional biologists as well as lay naturalists.” -- Thomas K. Pauley, coauthor of Amphibians and Reptiles in West Virginia “With reader friendly stories crafted from his own experiences and published research findings, Stuart A. Welsh helps us peek under the surface. Northern Pike hunt from self-created silt screens; Brook Trout benefit from long-term relationships with eastern hemlock trees; and male Fantail Darters sport a dorsal fin with fleshy knobs, which mimic eggs, which attract females. Welsh’s book will appeal to various curious folks—fishers, paddlers, riffle-sitters—who’ll never look at a stream the same way again.” -- George Constantz, author of Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: An Appalachian Mountain Ecology “This book will help the average person understand and appreciate these enigmatic animals via fabulous photos and illustrations, and a mixture of soft and hard science.” -- Daniel Cincotta, fish biologist, West Virginia University and West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Birders have lots of books detailing the behavior and ecology of their subjects. After all, birds are easily seen and observed. North American freshwater fishes, not so much. Many Fishes of… books tend to be field and identification guides. Diagnostic characters. Distribution. Habitat. And maybe a short paragraph on the fish’s life history or ecology. Hornyheads, Madtoms, and Darters . . . is a welcome departure. It’s a full-bodied natural history, written by a fisheries research scientist . . . who prefers to study fishes in the wild, not the lab. * American Currents *