Pelagic Dictionary of Natural History of the British Isles
A unique collection of concise but detailed information on 10,000 animals, plants, fungi and algae of the British Isles. Every species with an English common name is included.
The compendium is in two parts. The first, smaller part, looks at various terms that people interested in natural history may come across. The second provides information on individual species or species groups, with entries on those with English (common) names, as well as selected families, orders, classes, etc. In the case of marine organisms, entries are given for intertidal and subtidal invertebrate species, and generally speaking for fish species that might be observed inshore. Indication is often given on distribution as well as whether a species is common, scarce or something in between. For some species a note is made of population size and trends. Comments are made where appropriate on etymology, both of the English name and the binomial.
No other natural history dictionary or cognate publication relating to the British Isles is as comprehensive in taxonomic cover.
Peter Jarvis has an academic background in Geography and Environmental Science and was latterly an Honorary Research Fellow at Birmingham University. He was President of the Birmingham Natural History Society and has sat on the national committees of UK Man and the Biosphere (Urban Programme) and the Royal Society for Nature Conservation. His output includes refereed academic articles, wildlife journalism and several books, including Ecological principles and environmental issues (2000).