Freshwater Fishes of Northwestern Canada and Alaska (Bulletin - Fisheries Research Board of Canada ; 173)

As an introduction, the authors have devoted the first section of this Bulletin to background information. They provide a history of publications on northern freshwater fishes, an outline of geological history, zoogeographical patterns, summary of dispersal routes, details on classification, nomenclature, the scope of the species descriptions, and methods of identifying fishes. The second and by far the greatest part of the Bulletin consists of keys for the identification of fish families and species and accounts of 59 species found in the area under consideration. This includes drainages on the North American mainland that are tributaries either to the Bering Sea, to the Arctic Ocean from Bering Strait, to Hudson Bay or to the west side of Hudson Bay north of 60"N. Also included are St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea and is lands of the Western Canadian Arctic Archipelago. All freshwater and anadromous species known from the area are illustrated and described. Species that only occasionally enter freshwater in the area or that occupy freshwaters adjacent to the area are included in the keys. The Bulletin concludes with a section on collecting and preserving aimed at encouraging the interested layman to contribute to our knowledge of the Ichthyofauna of this little known part of the world.