Taxonomy: Book Recommendations for Marine Invertebrate ID -- 7/31/10
Hello.
<Hi Donald, Lynn here today.>
I am interested in learning how to identify marine invertebrates.
<My kind of guy!>
I was writing to ask which text(s) you would recommend.
<See below.>
I am getting into (not quite drowning) saltwater and currently am keeping a 29 gal mixed tank. I am sick of looking at pictures for hours trying to figure out what the heck is in my tank. It makes it much easier to reference how to care for something or whether it is good or bad if you actually know what it is.
<Absolutely>
With that being said I am seeking your opinion(s) on which books I should, You would, invest in for identifying marine invertebrates. I am interested in the taxonomy of reef invertebrates in particular if you know of a text/reference more specific to that area.
<I'll give you my top three:
1. Invertebrate Zoology, by Edward Ruppert and Robert Barnes. It's not strictly marine, but it's the best book I know of for invertebrate study. It's actually a textbook with what may initially seem like more information than you need, but if you want to get into invertebrate ID, this is a must. There are seven editions that have been released over the years that you can usually find used at a very reasonable price. I'd go with the latest edition you can afford.
2. Reef Invertebrates, An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility, by Robert Fenner and Anthony Calfo. What can I say, this is a great book!
3. Marine Invertebrates: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species, by Ronald L. Shimek. This is a terrific, quick ID source book.
There are many other books I could recommend, but these three are a good starting spot for helping you to recognize the various groups/phyla that you might run across in your tank. As far as strictly marine invertebrate books, they're out there, but most of the ones I've run across tend to offer fairly general information, as opposed to the detailed textbook level of the Ruppert/Barnes book. It really is a terrific information source.>
Thank You.
<You're very welcome. If you need any other recommendations, please let me know!>
Donald
<Take care, Lynn Z>

Re Invertebrate Ref. works  8/1/10
Oh, and Lynn, one book I'd add to your list of invertebrate books would be Ralph Buchsbaum excellent "Animals Without Backbones". The earlier editions especially, e.g., the ones with Ed Rickett's photos, are timeless classics. Perhaps not up-to-date in terms of science, but for a broad review of what makes a flatworm a flatworm and all that sort of stuff, I think Buchsbaum is amazingly readable.
Cheers, Neale
<I do concur. For one-volume references, any/all by Robert Barnes, Buchsbaum, and Ricketts are worthwhile. B>
Re: Reference
Thanks Neale, I've got that book and you're right, it's terrific!
-Lynn
Hi Bob and Neale,
I've got a ton of favorite books, I just didn't want to overload Donald with too many since he's a beginner. I'll make a list of my favorites by category in the next day or two and send to y'all.
-Lynn
Sounds good. B 

ID Related Books   8/2/10
Hi Bob,
Here's the promised list of books that I refer to most often (see attachment). I've got a ton of online links but that's for another day!
Take care,
-Lynn
ps...I bet you're surprised to get such a short *anything* from me - query, article, email, etc!
<Heee! Will post w/ credit to you. BobF>
Re: ID Related Books
Thanks Bob, Neale, At the risk of sounding like an ignoramus, where would something like that be posted? -Lynn
I think at the "head" of the Ref FAQs file I built: http://wetwebmedia.com/MarInvertRefF.htm
at the end of the Unknown Invert (ID) FAQs here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marinvind1.htm
B
 Re: ID Related Books
Makes sense - thanks, Lynn
<Thank you Lynn... If you have better, even just diff. ideas on how we/I might go about the arrangement of matter on WWM, pls don't hesitate to make this known to me. Given the present structure of media, my limitations, guesses re the future, what others may best be served by, I do what I can... but fully realize others have ideas of worth. Cheers, B>
Re: ID Related Books   8/3/10
<<carets>>
Makes sense - thanks,
Lynn
<Thank you Lynn... If you have better, even just diff. ideas on how we/I might go about the arrangement of matter on WWM, pls don't hesitate to make this known to me. Given the present structure of media, my limitations, guesses re the future, what others may best be served by, I do what I can... but fully realize others have ideas of worth. Cheers, B>
<<Well, actually, I have to apologize because I did to you yesterday what I've had done to me on more than one occasion. That is, being presented with a suggestion from someone that means well, but doesn't realize: 1. The amount of work necessary to make it happen, 2. That you're already over-loaded with work, and 3. That you've already been working to solve the issue at hand. The thing is, I always appreciate the suggestions but in the back of my mind I can't help but think something along the lines of "I'll get right on that, as soon as I have a couple hundred extra hours available!". I know you and Neale are doing the best you can to make the site work for everyone and don't have a lot of extra time so for right now I think we're doing just fine. If and when I ever get a big chunk of time available, I might just see if I can put together some bulleted sheets like this one: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zoanthidcompfaqs.htm and send them along to you. Honestly though, I can't imagine having that much time available any time soon! Take care, -Lynn>>