BioInfo (UK)

Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (eds), 1996

Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe

A collection of chapters on all the diverse groups of animals likely to be found on the shore or during inshore coastal studies. This is not a field guide, but is intended for use in the lab on living or dead specimens. This really useful work for all who are seriously interested in identifying what they find on the sea-shore has been reprinted almost every year since publication.

It is a shorter version of "The Marine Fauna of the British Isles and north-west Europe" in two (very expensive!) volumes by the same authors. The species selected are those most likely to be found on the shore or during inshore coastal studies. Some groups (like Protozoa) have been omitted. The keys have been simplified and the accounts shortened. Although mostly cut down from the larger work, the Handbook also contains a few species not in those volumes.

The accounts for Ostracods and Copepods in particular are brief and only cover species most likely to be encountered on the shore.

Doesn't include sea mammals or birds, nor plankton or meiofauna.

Publisher Oxford University Press (OUP)
Pages 800
ISBN 978 0 19 854055 7
Edition reprint with minor corrections
Comments and Corrigenda P98 Hydroids key: couplet 19 (Sertularella gayi & polyzonias) has outcomes reversed (cf descriptions p102 and Cornelius)
Coverage Covers approximately 1500 species. This is the vast majority of species likely to be found along our shores.
Illustrations Numerous plates of line drawings in the text.
Identify Under a Stereo Microscope (also useful to examine under a Compound Microscope).

Malcolm Storey

Taxonomic Scope

ANIMALIA (animals) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
(Pisces) (Fishes) Identification Current Shore fauna.
UROCHORDATA (ascidians, sea-squirts, tunicates) Identification Current
ECHINODERMATA (starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers) Identification Current
HEMICHORDATA (hemichordates) Identification Current
ARACHNIDA (mites, spiders, false scorpions, harvestmen etc.) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
PYCNOGONIDA (sea spiders) Identification Current
CRUSTACEA (crustaceans) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
COPEPODA (copepods) Identification Current Intertidal pool species.
OSTRACODA (ostracods, mussel shrimps) Identification Current Common intertidal species.
INSECTA (insects) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
MYRIAPODA (myriapods) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
PRIAPULIDA (priapulans) Identification Current
ENTOPROCTA (entoprocts) Identification Current
ECTOPROCTA (bryozoans, ectoprocts and moss animals) Identification Current
ECTOPROCTA (bryozoans, ectoprocts and moss animals) Identification Current
NEMERTEA (proboscis worms, ribbon worms) Identification Current
SIPUNCULA (sipunculan worms) Identification Current
ANNELIDA (segmented worms and leeches) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
ECHIURA (burrow worms and echiuran worms) Identification Current
MOLLUSCA (slugs, snails, bivalves, octopus, sea slugs) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
PLATYHELMINTHES (flatworms, tapeworms, flukes) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
CNIDARIA (hydroids, jelly fish, sea anemones) Identification Current Littoral and sublittoral fauna.
CTENOPHORA (PHYLUM) (comb jellies) Identification Current
PORIFERA (sponges) Identification Superseded Littoral and sublittoral fauna.

Related

Original two-volume work Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (eds), 1990
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Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material on the BioInfo website by Malcolm Storey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Licence.