This two-volume set comprises 26 contributions written by international scholars in the fields of vertebrate morphology, animal biology, marine ecology, ethology and animal psychology, neurobiology and behavior, ichthyology, soil sciences, and many other fields. The first volume addresses catfish anatomy; function and functional morphology; and phylogeny, systematics, and some problematic groups. The catfish fossil record, ecology and ethology, development, and sensory biology are covered in the second volume. (Note: the original printing of volume 2 had some software-caused printing errors; the publisher has reprinted.) Illustrations throughout, mostly detailed b&w diagrams along with a few color images, are good. Distributed in the US by Enfield. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)