Introduction 



HALF a century ago Jordan and Evermann's Fishes of North and Middle Amer- 

 ica was published, and up to the present time these volumes have continued to 

 be the only comprehensive descriptive account dealing with western Atlantic 

 fishes. With the progression of years this work has become less available and more obso- 

 lete, which is understandable in view of the scientific advances made during the intervening 

 decades. 



Vast numbers of papers, both scientific and popular, have appeared since 1 896-1 900 

 — the dates of issuance of Jordan and Evermann's work. Numerous new genera and spe- 

 cies have been described 5 many groups of fishes have been subjected to detailed study and 

 revision, especially within the last two decades; new viewpoints on classification and 

 phylogeny have been presented; much additional information has been published on life 

 histories and habits of many species, and some regional studies of the fish faunas have been 

 made. However, this new information remains widely distributed in numerous books and 

 periodicals. 



Since our knowledge of the fishes on this side of the Atlantic has reached a point of 

 relative stability, particularly with regard to purely descriptive accounts, the present time 

 seems especially suitable for a publication which embraces all of our knowledge of the 

 fish fauna of this region. To bring together and synthesize this scattered ichthyological 

 information and to make it available to both the public and to marine biologists is the 

 primary purpose of this work. 



The first volume of Fishes of the Western North Atlantic brings to frui- 

 tion, at least in part, a plan which was conceived at New Haven some years ago. With 

 the establishment of the Sears Foundation for Marine Research at Yale University in 

 1937, funds became available for publication, and a group of interested ichthyologists met 

 to discuss the preparation of a work such as is here presented. To lay a firm groundwork and 

 to initiate production, the Editorial Board was formed, the members of which are Charles 

 M. Breder, Jr., Samuel F. Hildebrand, Albert E. Parr, William C. Schroeder, John Tee- 

 Van, and, until his death in 1944, the late J. R. Norman of the British Museum (Natural 

 History). Assisting the Editorial Board is an Advisory Committee: William Beebe (New 

 York Zoological Society), Rolf L. Bolin (Hopkins Marine Station), William K. Gregory 

 (American Museum of Natural History), Carl L. Hubbs (Scripps Institution of Oceanog- 

 raphy), Daniel Merriman (Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory), George S. Myers 



