General Announcements

AUSTRALIAN FISHERIES RESOURCES. The most accurate and comprehensive account of Australian fisheries ever published. Detailed information on more than 300 species of marine and freshwater fish and shellfish, plus info. on aquatic environments and fishing methods in Oz. "The Fisherman's Bible". 432 pp, 255 maps, 232 photos, 374 technical drawings. Etc. Etc. Measures 250x328 mm, weighs 2.7 kg. Price including postage: A$ 75 to USA, Mexico, Arabian countries; A$81 to Europe, South Africa, U.K., South America; A$69 to Asia and Pacific; A$63 to New Zealand. Orders to P. Kailola, 19 Walkers Ave., Newnham, Tas. 7248, Australia. Fax: 61 3) 6326 6958; tel. 61 3)6326 6948; email: pkailola@compuserve. com. International cheque (you pay fees), Visa or Mastercard.

BIOGEOGRAPHY SPREADSHEET FOR INDO-PACIFIC SHORE-FISHES. I am currently creating a biogeographic table of shorefish distributions for the Indo-Pacific on an Excel spreadsheet. The purpose of the spreadsheet is to compare biodiversity across regions and aid in producing detailed species distribution maps. It includes all species of shorefishes that occur down to 200 m, including freshwater gobioids as well as deeper-dwelling species within certain families that include shorefishes (e.g. many eels, dragonets, scorpaeniformes). It is based primarily on published checklists, taxonomic revisions and periodic reviews of key journals, but also utilizes much unpublished information from other verifiable sources such as museum collection data bases and verifiable underwater photographs. So far, I've completed data entry for localities that are the subject of recent comprehensive faunal studies or checklists. I am interested in contributions from anyone with recent, accurate lists of fishes from their area, especially lists that can be emailed as electronic files convertible to MS Word or Excel. Of course, I would be happy to share information from my spreadsheet. Since this is an unfunded project that gets "shelved" for long periods of time, I ask past and future collaborators to please bear with me and I will eventually get back to you. Since it now occupies nearly 100 pages of near-microscopic text, I rarely print it and prefer to share it or portions of it as an electronic file. Robert F. Myers, P.O. Box 21153, GMF, Guam 96921 USA; ph.: (671) 734-1092 call first to fax from ca. 1300-2200 GMT); E-mail: rmyers@netpci.com.

THE BÖHLKE FUND provides support for graduate students to work with the Ichthyology collection and library at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. The fund awards money for travel to Philadelphia and for modest living accommodations available at the Academy. Award amounts are generally less than $500. To apply for 2001 send a letter of application outlining proposed research and tentative budget to Dr. John Lundberg or Dr. Dominique Dagit, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA. Deadline for applications is April 1, 2001.

BOOK REVIEWS. If you have authored a fish book or want to call attention to a specific title, please have a review copy of the book sent to: Dr. William D. Anderson, Jr. Ichthyological Book Review Editor, Copeia, Grice Marine Lab, 205 Fort Johnson, Charleston, SC 29412.

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES—DIGITAL IMAGES OF PRIMARY TYPE SPECIMENS. The Dept. of Ichthyology is nearing completion of an NSF grant to provide digital images of all primary type specimens in our ichthyological collection. We currently have photographic images (lateral and dorsal or ventral views) of more than 1,000 species and digital radiographic images of more than 960 species. In addition, original figures of type specimens taken from the literature have been scanned in for 290 species. Low-resolution images of the species so far completed will be available at the Academy’s website and linked to the Ichthyology Department’s homepage. High-resolution images are available by request through the Internet or on a CD. Work will continue to fully develop the website over the next few months. We plan to have these images linked to our collection catalog at a later stage. We anticipate having images available for all of our primary type specimens before May 2001. Subsequently, images of secondary types and non-types will be made available on the website as time and needs arise.

CATALOG OF FISHES at a discount. We have more than "broken even" on sales of the Catalog of Fishes, CAS special publication, 1998. With the eventual closure for rebuilding of the Academy and a desire to produce a new printed version of the "Catalog of Fishes" in 2-3 years, we are making the following offer to ichthyology students. You may purchase the complete set and CD for $50.00 (plus $5 domestic postage, $25 foreign surface postage) if you are a student or recent graduate (2-3 years) in ichthyology [honor system, one set per student]. Contact mhoang@calacademy.org.

CHANGE IN SUPPLIER OF PRINTER RIBBONS WITH NON-BLEEDING INK. The Maryland company that has been providing ethanol resistant inked printer ribbons to the museum community has undergone a change. The division doing the re-inking of ribbons is now a separate company. Mr. Minh of Access Computer Printer Products, Inc., phone 301-731-4407, Fax 301-731-4046, is handling all orders for ribbons with the non-bleeding ink. Mr. Minh, an engineer by training, is anxious to continue supplying ethanol-resistant inked printer ribbons to the museum community. Please contact him directly if you have questions or to obtain pricing information. ACPP, 9700-AA Martin Luther King Jr. Hwy, Lanham, MD 20706. Email address: acpp@erols.com

THE DEPARTMENT OF ICHTHYOLOGY AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, Philadelphia, has increased its staff during the last year. For information regarding collections, loans and visits contact any of the following persons: John Lundberg, Curator (tel. 215 405-5069; Email: lundberg@acnatsci.org); Dominque Didier Dagit, Associate Curator (tel. 215 - 299-1152; Email: dagit@acnatsci.org); Mark Sabaj, Collection Manager (tel. 215 299-1026; Email: sabaj@acnatsci.org); Mike Littmann, Research and Collections Associate (tel. 215 299-1123; Email: littmann@acnatsci.org); our searchable collections database: http://erato.acnatsci.org/cgi-bin/php/main?fish.php and our web site: http://www.acnatsci.org/biodiv/ichthyology/about.html

FISHBASE. Since August 2000 FishBase covers information on over 25,000 species, accessible on CD-ROM or on the web at www.fishbase.org. A number of colleagues have volunteered to update the families of their expertise, which can be done online. If you are interested to participate in this effort to provide a high-quality public domain information system on fish, please contact Rainer Froese (r.froese@sp2000.org). FishBase also provides access to museum collections as well as fishery surveys through one standardized interface (www.fishbase.org/SearchFishCollections.cfm). If your institution wants to join this global effort, again please contact Rainer Froese.

FISH-LARVAE FROM THE CANARIES. More than 4.600 fish-larvae (among them 321 Leptocephali) caught in two cruises in the area of the Canary Islands are deposited at the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen (ZMUC). If you wish to work on them and for further information please contact Dr. Franz Uiblein, Institute of Zoology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria. Email franz.uiblein@sbg.ac.at

FISHES OF AUSTRALIA. The Australian taxonomic fish community is currently examining logistic parameters associated with the production of a comprehensive illustrated guide to the fishes of Australia. International colleagues will be approached for collaborative participation for those groups where taxonomic problems remain and in which local researchers are not involved. At this stage, few decisions have been made apart from the general format for this somewhat lengthy project. Please address inquiries to Martin Gomon or Peter Last (mgomon@museum.vic.gov.au; peter.last@marine.csiro.au).

GIBBS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SYSTEMATIC ICHTHYOLOGY. Nominations are invited for the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) Robert H. Gibbs, Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Systematic Ichthyology. The prize is awarded for an outstanding body of published work in systematic ichthyology to a citizen of a Western Hemisphere nation who has not been a recipient of the award. The award is offered annually and consists of an appropriate plaque and a cash award (approximately $7500). The award recipient is announced at the annual meeting of the ASIH. The award for year 2000 was presented to Dr. James C. Tyler, Senior Scientist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, for his outstanding contributions on plectognath fishes, as well as his papers on several other groups of fishes, both recent and fossil. Nominations may be made by any ichthyologists, including self-nominations, and should include the nominee’s curriculum vitae, details of the nominee’s specific contributions and their impacts on systematic ichthyology. Nominations should be submitted by March 1, 2001, in order for the nominee to be eligible for that year’s award. Nominations will be effective for three award periods (2001-2003). Four copies of each nomination should be sent to Dr. Maureen A. Donnelly, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151^st Street, North Miami, FL 33181-3000.

INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. The new, fourth edition of the ICZN, published in 1999 and in effect since 1 January 2000 is available for purchase through the American Association for Zoological Nomenclature. List price is $65.00, but students and/or members of any scientific society are entitled to a 25 % discount, or $48.00. Institutions or agencies purchasing five or more copies are also entitled to a 25% discount. Individual members of AAZN get a 40% discount. These prices include shipping by surface book rate. Priority mail (USA) or air mail (Canada) is $3.00 extra. To purchase a copy, send a check for the proper amount, payable to AAZN, to David G. Smith, Treasurer AAZN, MRC-159, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560-0159. Please note that AAZN does not accept credit cards. Those wishing to use credit cards and those residing outside North America are encouraged to purchase directly from the Trust in London (email: iczn@nhm.ac.uk).

I S R MUNRO ICHTHYOLOGICAL COLLECTION. At the end of last year we moved into a new purpose-built facility, which features specialist collection storage areas and modern research laboratories, including formalin processing lab, x-ray, photographic, and darkroom facilities. The facility, focusing primarily on marine species from the Australian region, contains comprehensive collections of the region’s chondrichthyans and deepwater fishes. It comprises approximately 41,000 lots and more than 100,000 adult & 50,000 larval specimens. In addition to local material, it contains significant collections from Macquarie Island & south-east Asia. Collection data is fully computerised using "Texpress" software. It also houses a photographic index of Australian fishes (PIAF), which contains approximately 30,000 slides, representing more than 2500 species. For further information please contact the collection manager, Alastair Graham, CSIRO Div. Mar. Research, Hobart, Australia 7000. (Alastair.Graham@marine.csiro.au).

THE LARVAE OF INDO-PACIFIC COASTAL FISHES: An Identification Guide to Marine Fish Larvae. Edited by Jeffrey M. Leis & Brooke M. Carson-Ewart was published by Brill in May 2000 This second volume in the Fauna Malesiana book series gives an extensive overview of the larval development of 125 families of fishes, many of them of importance for both fishery and from ecological perspectives. The families that are described originate from the center of global marine biodiversity: the tropical Indo-Pacific Oceans, a region rich with coral reefs, as well as mangrove, estuarine, and coastal shelf habitats. The identification guide not only documents the ontogeny of these fishes but also provides the means to identify these extraordinarily diverse larvae to the level of family. The book offers a wealth of instructive and detailed figures and illustrations (219 plates, each consisting of approximately 4 figures) for enabling the identification of these families and their larval specializations. Price DLG 425.32/ US$ 237. Due to exchange-rate fluctuations, the DLG price is considerable cheaper than the US$ price. If you order from EJ Brill (www.Brill.nl), and specify a non-USA delivery address, you can access the DLG price. Also available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. At this writing, B&N have it for US$ 175. (Jeffrey Leis)

DR. MONOD, THEODORE. The Laboratory of Ichthyology of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, is very sad to announce the death of Professor Theodore Monod, Member of the Academy of Sciences, Honorary Professor in the MNHN and previous Director of our Laboratory. Theodore Monod passed away on November 22 at the age of 98. One of the last "voyageur-naturaliste" disappeared. We are all very sad to lose our scientific guide. (Jean-Claude Hureau)

MOSS LANDING MARINE LABORATORIES, Moss Landing, California. We would be very interested in pursuing additional age-validation studies on deep-water and/or long-lived fishes from around the world. We are especially interested in working on orange roughy or coelacanth otolith material. In addition, we continue to be interested in submersible or ROV studies of deep-water habitats and their fish assemblages. (Gregor Cailliet)

MOVE OF COLLECTIONS IN THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON. The fish collection in The Natural History Museum (formerly British Museum (Natural History)) will be moved into a new Zoology Department building. The new building, which is currently under construction adjacent to the current Spirit Building, is due to be completed by the end of 2000; the collections will be moved over the first six or so months of 2001. Visitor and loan access to the fish collection during the move will be very difficult, and researchers wishing to make use of the collections should therefore plan appropriately. For further details, contact: Oliver Crimmen, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. Tel. 44 (0)20 7942 5753; fax 44 (0)20 7942 5433; e-mail: oac@nhm.ac.uk

MUSEUM OF SOUTHWESTERN BIOLOGY (MSB), DIVISION OF FISHES (Univ. of New Mexico), has been awarded a two-year collections improvement grant ($172,077) from the National Science Foundation. This grant provides funding for the purchase of equipment, such as stainless steel specimen tanks and skeleton boxes. Also supported by the grant are two half-time staff positions and the services of a professional moving company for relocation of the collection to a new facility. The MSB Division of Fishes is a repository for collections of southwestern U.S. fishes and is an important resource for various studies in desert fish ecology. However, for the last five years 30% of the collection has been inaccessible (i.e., stored in boxes) due to lack of shelving space. When the collection is moved in January 2001, the jars of eggs, larvae, and adults will be stored on SpacesaverÒ compactor units. This shelving system will allow for a 20-year growth span, including acquisitions of orphaned (regional) collections. The collection will be maintained in a dark, 16 C degree room with 4-hour firewalls and sprinklers. The new facility will also provide state-of-the-art research, visitor, and specimen preparation areas thereby improving access and use of the collection. (Alexandra Snyder, e-mail amsnyder @unm.edu)

MUSEUM VICTORIA announces the public opening of its recently completed Melbourne Museum campus, housing Museum Victoria’s research and collections departments. Situated on the edge of Melbourne’s central business district, the facility features upgraded collection storage areas and modern research laboratories, together with its greatly expanded exhibition spaces. The Museum Victoria fish collection, focusing primarily on species living in marine and fresh waters of southeastern Australia, comprises approximately 35,000 lots and more than 200,000 specimens. In addition to local material, it contains significant historical collections that have featured in publications by McCoy, Castelnau, Bleeker, McCulloch, Günther and others. See: http://amol.org.au/collection/hostedwebs/fish/index.html for further details about collections in Museum Victoria and museums throughout Australia. Inquiries about the Museum Victoria fish collection may be directed to Martin F. Gomon, Senior Curator, Ichthyology, Museum Victoria, PO Box 666E, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001, AUSTRALIA; Tel (03) 8341 7435; Intl 613 8341 7435; Fax (03) 8341 7442 Intl 613 8341 7442; Email MGomon@museum.vic.gov.au

NMNZ FISH COLLECTION MOVED, BUT STILL CLOSED. The National Fish Collection held by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa was moved successfully in May 2000 to new premises at 169 Tory Street, Wellington. Due to a number of problems, the collection is not yet operational. We anticipate that the collection will be accessible for visits and loans in early 2001. Meantime please accept our apologies for delays in responses to enquiries and other requests. (Clive Roberts)

OPPORTUNITIES. Great Lakes Environmental Genetics Laboratory at the Cleveland State University relocated the lab in summer 2000 to improved facilities and greater opportunity. It has funding (stipend, tuition, medical) available for an additional excellent Ph.D. student to work on the Percidae. The Director is looking for a postdotoral researcher to work on the Blennioidei. (Carol A. Stepien)

PROJECT SEAHORSE has an extensive collection of dried seahorses which may be borrowed for research purposes. Please contact Sara Lourie, Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Dr Penfield, Montréal, H3A 1B1, Québec, CANADA. Tel: +1 (514) 398 5112, Fax: +1 (514) 398 5069, Email: slouri@po-box.mcgill.ca for more information.

THE RAFFLES MUSEUM OF BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH (RMBR) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), has extensive collections of freshwater fish and other fauna from Southeast Asia, with main emphasis on Peninsular Malaysia. Its main function until now has been for research and reference collection. From the second quarter of 2001, there will be an exhibition gallery open for the public, situated next to the museum. More information can be obtained from the RMBR website at rmbr.nus.edu.sg

DR. RAMA RAO, KAZA V. It is with sadness that we report that we received an email from Kaza's daughter Merra notifying us that he died on 17 October 2000 from a heart attack. He had visited the California Academy of Sciences, and we worked together on several papers on scorpionfishes. Before his retirement, he worked for the Zoological Survey of Inda, in Hillpatna, Berhampur. Our regrets go out to his family. (Bill Eschmeyer)

REQUEST FOR PICTURES OF EASTERN PACIFIC FISHES. We are preparing a compact disc on marine fishes of Baja California Sur, Mexico (Gulf of California and northwest coast of Mexico, a CD- updated version of the book "Catálogo de los Peces Marinos de Baja California Sur" ISBN 970-18-0338-8, copies yet availables) and any picture (slides & prints) of these fishes will be welcomed. Authorization for use of published materials also will be greatly appreciated. The original materials received will be returned to contributors, credits and a legal copy of the finished work (Spanish/English) will be given to the authors of the pictures included. José De La Cruz Agüero.CICIMAR-IPN Apdo. Postal 592. La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. E-mail: jcruz@reipn.ipn.mx

REQUEST FOR RECENT COMPARATIVE MATERIAL. In the course of study on Recent dasyatid and urolophid dental morphologies, I should be very grateful to colleagues who could provide me with jaws of North American Atlantic species (Dasyatis centroura, D. americana, D. guttata, D. say, D. sabina, ) as well as jaws of the genera Plesiobatis, Hexatrygon and Urogymnus. (Henri Cappetta)

RETIREMENT. Dr. Han Nijssen, Curator of Fishes, Department of Ichthyology of the University of Amsterdam will retire this fall. - Due to the postponement of the supposed three-yearly Congress in 2000 of European Ichthyologists in Belgium, it was not possible to say farewell personally to most of you. - The Department of Ichthyology is dissolved into the 'Section of Vertebrates', without a vertebrate curator. All reprints sent to Han Nijssen during 4 decades are deposited in the library of the Zoological Museum. The books will be sold in the near future.

RETIREMENT IN 2001. Dr. Jean-Claude Hureau will retire on 31^st August 2001. In due time, he will send to everybody his new e-mail address (at home), personal address and phone number. He intends to remain in close contact with the ichthyologists and the "Polar world" during several years, but he will not continue to have a seat in the MNHN. For the curation of the Fish collection in Paris after 31^st August 2001, the contacts will be only Guy Duhamel, Patrice Pruvost and Martine Desoutter.

SMITHSONIAN FISH HISTORY WEBSITE. The Division of Fishes of the National Museum of Natural History has prepared a website describing the first 50 years of ichthyology at the Smithsonian Institution. The period began with the arrival of Spencer F. Baird as Assistant Secretary in 1850 and saw the establishment and development of ichthyology at the Smithsonian. The site includes short biographies of the ichthyologists associated with the Smithsonian during that period: Charles Girard, Theodore Gill, G. Brown Goode, Tarleton H. Bean, and David Starr Jordan. Also included are the exploring expeditions that contributed to the early growth of the collection, the establishment of the U. S. Fish Commission, important publications, and public exhibitions. The site was prepared by D. G. Smith and I. A. Bowman in observation of the 150^th anniversary of Baird's arrival. See: http://www.mnh.si.edu/ vert/fishes/baird/

A SYMPOSIUM ON THE "BIODIVERSITY OF TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE REEFS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION" will be held at the 10^th Pacific Science Inter-Congress on Guam (June 1-6, 2001). For more information, contact: Dr. Terry J. Donaldson, International Marinelife Alliance, University of Guam Marine Lab., UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923 USA (email: donaldsn@uog9.uog.edu).

TAXOMANIA is a database application intended for scientists, students or simply amateurs who are interested in taxonomy. Its modular structure allows to undertake projects of very different sizes and scopes. Initially developed for the Natural History Museum in Brussels (Belgium) for a large specimen collection, the application operates in English or French in the MS Windows environment (95/98/ME/2000). The same database can be used simultaneously by several users on a local area network. The main modules are:

• TAXA, a taxonomic approach based on a flexible tree structure, allowing for synonym management;
• SPECIMENS, with a comprehensive set of data with regard to specimen reference, collection and storage;
• LOCALITIES and PEOPLE (authors, collectors, determinators, publishers etc. referenced in other modules);
• DOCUMENTATION and BIBLIOGRAPHY associated with taxa, allowing to include texts, pictures, Internet pages, video and audio documents etc.;
• MAPS, to draw on geographic maps locations of specimens or taxa observations;
• LOANS of specimens;
• REPORTS, a report / label generator.

Taxomania uses a Microsoft Access compatible database structure, which would eventually allow to transfer data to newer applications, safeguarding the data asset in the long term. Information and demo version can be obtained from info@dataneat.org, or by visiting http://www.dataneat.org

UNIVERSITY OF GUAM MARINE LABORATORY FISH COLLECTION. Renovation and downsizing continues sporadically. Duplicate lots will be made available for donation to any interested persons or institutions. For further details, please contact Robert F. Myers or Terry Donaldson, Marine Laboratory, UOG Station, Mangilao, Guam 96923 USA, fax (671)-734-6767.

ZUPANCIC, PRIMOZ (address under synopsis): (1) Announces that his private collection of fishes (ca 3000 specimens ) is for sale. The collection comprises all endemic species ( including type series of recently discovered species) inhabiting Western Balkans (Slovenija, Croatia, Bosnia & Herecegovina, Monte Negro, Macedonia=FYROM-Adriatic basin). Catalogue and details available on request. (2) wants to buy the following publications: Cooper L.E. 1983: Fishes of Pennsylvania; Gerking S.D.1945: The distribution of the fishes of Indiana; Minckley W.L. 1973: Fishes of Arizona; Kemp R.H. jr. 1971: Freshwater fishes of Texas; Hankinson T.L. 1929: Fishes of North Dakota; Symington D.F.1959: The fish of Saskatchewan; Davis R.M. 1974: Key to the freshwater fishes of Maryland; Dahlberg M.D.& D.C. Scott 1971: The freshwater fishes of Georgia.