The book by marine biologist Helen Scales is dedicated to the most ordinary and mysterious, well-known and somewhat unfamiliar beings — fish. Their fascinating and interesting lives take place hidden from us, beneath the surface of the water, in the depths of the ocean, and thus remain largely underestimated and misunderstood by us.
The writer, being a diver, spent hundreds of hours underwater observing the lives of marine inhabitants, and now as a guide invites us on an exciting journey through the seas and oceans, through the rivers of Europe and America, through reefs and ocean depths.
We will swim with mantas and sharks, marvel at the ingenuity of cleaner wrasses, and delight in the beauty and peculiar behaviors of various fish — from clownfish to piranhas and deep-sea anglerfish. We will also learn many new things about why deadly poisonous fish do not poison themselves, how fish in schools do not collide with each other, how they manage to avoid the jaws of swift predators, why they paint secret graffiti on their bodies (and who reads them), what sounds they make, and how they have struck a deal with bacteria to glow and see in the dark.
We will discover that fish are far from being as primitive as they were once thought to be — they can count, use tools, understand the laws of physics, solve complex logical problems, possess social intelligence, and are capable of cooperation. Fish demonstrate behaviors that were previously thought to be characteristic only of humans and some primates with large brains.
In the pages of the book, we will also meet tireless scientists of the past and present who have dedicated their lives to studying marine creatures, learn about the oldest fish and how fish learned to live on land. This fascinating book, rich with a vast amount of facts, will undoubtedly inspire readers to get to know these amazing beings better and will make them think about how they are much smarter and live a significantly more complex and interesting life than is commonly believed.
