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I thought I would let you all know that a new “special publication†is now on sale. It is titled, Südamerikanische Zwergcichliden/South American Dwarf Cichlids, published by Ulmer Verlag, who publishes the German magazine, DATZ. Excuse my bias, but I expect it to replace Aqualog’s Southamerican Cichlids II as the picture book for identifying dwarf cichlids. Like SACII, all of the information in the book is in both German & English. The English translation is better (courtesy, for the most part, of yours truly). Since I’ve seen the galley proof of the book, here are some of the items it includes:
Each fish is pictured with short notes on other names, type locality, distribution, degree of breeding difficulty, & - where useful - short comments. Overall, the photos are excellent. This “DATZ Sonderheft (special publication)â€Â, in part makes up for the poorly printed pictures in Die Buntbarshe Amerikas, Band 2 – Apistogramma & Co. by Ingo Koslowski. Most of the photos in this book are those found in the earlier book, but in all of their spectacular colors. Its other function is to up-date our knowledge of new dwarf cichlid species since Koslowski’s book was published in 2002. The new book also has the expected sections on ecology, maintenance, basic breeding, and important references published after 2002 & not in Koslowski’s book. These sections are short & the authors recommend Koslowski’s book for a more detailed discussion. Most of the book is pictures of fish:
243 different species and distinct forms of Apistogramma.
1 species of Apistogrammoides
1 species of Taeniacara
3 species of Mikrogeophagus
3 species & distinct forms of Biotoecus
2 species of Crenicara
5 species & distinct forms of Dicrossus
1 species of Mazarunia (the real M. mazarunii)
1 species of an undescribed genus, the Red Patwa (we once thought it was M. mazarunii)
9 species & distinct forms of Nannacara
6 species of Laetacara
The Apistogramma section is arranged by species-complexes, so that closely related species are on the same page & can be easily compared with each other. This is so much better than going from one page to another looking for similar fish. In addition, for the first time anywhere, there is a phylogeny (family tree) for apistos based on DNA studies! It shows some interesting relationships that weren’t expected, and confirms other relationships. Also included is a numbering system (A-numbers) similar to that used for Corydoras (C-numbers) and Loracarids (L-numbers). Maybe this will help with all of the confusing names for the same species.
Although it isn’t full of text, it puts a lot of information in a few sentences. In this respect, it is similar to the Baensch Aquarium Atlas. It is a book well worth having. Cost? Under €25 ($30)!
For more information (in German) see: http://www.datz.de/LEIZ2DHAlBnQm7Yp7F1opAn2aJ2ZMDH++.HTML?UID=410A6D40B3D8D2D699E63E5A3320925B12B9E4181C90
For views of some of the book see: http://www.datz.de/hEIZ2DHAlC1Ql7YNAEJB6GJB0HXon9HUkA12hA1YlAGop7ZF3HJ-THI37HXp4IP43nO27pMqUiO5Fh7Yp7F1opAn2+.HTML?UID=410A6D40B3D8D2D699E63E5A3320925B12B9E4181C93
I am toying with the idea of selling this book with an English translation of Koslowski’s book along with this new book some time in the future (I have permission from the publisher & author.). Anyone interested?
Each fish is pictured with short notes on other names, type locality, distribution, degree of breeding difficulty, & - where useful - short comments. Overall, the photos are excellent. This “DATZ Sonderheft (special publication)â€Â, in part makes up for the poorly printed pictures in Die Buntbarshe Amerikas, Band 2 – Apistogramma & Co. by Ingo Koslowski. Most of the photos in this book are those found in the earlier book, but in all of their spectacular colors. Its other function is to up-date our knowledge of new dwarf cichlid species since Koslowski’s book was published in 2002. The new book also has the expected sections on ecology, maintenance, basic breeding, and important references published after 2002 & not in Koslowski’s book. These sections are short & the authors recommend Koslowski’s book for a more detailed discussion. Most of the book is pictures of fish:
243 different species and distinct forms of Apistogramma.
1 species of Apistogrammoides
1 species of Taeniacara
3 species of Mikrogeophagus
3 species & distinct forms of Biotoecus
2 species of Crenicara
5 species & distinct forms of Dicrossus
1 species of Mazarunia (the real M. mazarunii)
1 species of an undescribed genus, the Red Patwa (we once thought it was M. mazarunii)
9 species & distinct forms of Nannacara
6 species of Laetacara
The Apistogramma section is arranged by species-complexes, so that closely related species are on the same page & can be easily compared with each other. This is so much better than going from one page to another looking for similar fish. In addition, for the first time anywhere, there is a phylogeny (family tree) for apistos based on DNA studies! It shows some interesting relationships that weren’t expected, and confirms other relationships. Also included is a numbering system (A-numbers) similar to that used for Corydoras (C-numbers) and Loracarids (L-numbers). Maybe this will help with all of the confusing names for the same species.
Although it isn’t full of text, it puts a lot of information in a few sentences. In this respect, it is similar to the Baensch Aquarium Atlas. It is a book well worth having. Cost? Under €25 ($30)!
For more information (in German) see: http://www.datz.de/LEIZ2DHAlBnQm7Yp7F1opAn2aJ2ZMDH++.HTML?UID=410A6D40B3D8D2D699E63E5A3320925B12B9E4181C90
For views of some of the book see: http://www.datz.de/hEIZ2DHAlC1Ql7YNAEJB6GJB0HXon9HUkA12hA1YlAGop7ZF3HJ-THI37HXp4IP43nO27pMqUiO5Fh7Yp7F1opAn2+.HTML?UID=410A6D40B3D8D2D699E63E5A3320925B12B9E4181C93
I am toying with the idea of selling this book with an English translation of Koslowski’s book along with this new book some time in the future (I have permission from the publisher & author.). Anyone interested?