Source: QLD Newsletter, Volume 10 No. 1, January 1994, page 5. Author: Ian S.R. Munro, Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries (New Guinea), 1967, 651pp plus 78pp of black & white plates and 6 coloured plates. Reviewer: Bruce Hansen. View original scan (PDF)

Published in 1967, by the Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries, New Guinea, this book was the first attempt to detail all the fish fauna of New Guinea in one volume. The author has drawn on the collections and literature from France, Britain, Germany, Holland, America, Switzerland, Italy and Australia to produce this monumental field guide with identification as its main aim, achieved through a series of keys and plates.

The fish are described by Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species with a brief description of each plus size, general distribution and habitat. This is a giant step forward on previously available, fragmented information. Altogether 1096 species are covered.

Naturally the nomenclature for Rainbowfish and Blue-eyes, and the range of species covered is outdated now but historically this is a very important “Fishbook” to anyone interested in fishes of our region.