Identifying your fish

A mosaic from Pompeii (CC image by Masimo Finizio). Complete with nice pectoral fins and lateral line.

 As with so many of the other groups you could study, there's an FSC Aidgap guide for fish: Field key to the Freshwater Fishes and Lampreys of the British Isles by Alwyne Wheeler. We've got a couple of copies, or it's only £6 to buy.

An older option would be the Freshwater Biological Association's Key to the Freshwater Fishes of the British Isles by Peter S Maitland, of which we have a copy. 

I noticed there's also an online key by Alwyne Wheeler (also for freshwater fish) but it's not illustrated.

Public domain image of an oarfish (Regalecus glesne) - probably a bit big for your collection.

Mr Wheeler also wrote an Aidgap key to shore fishes of the British Isles - I don't think we have a copy in the field centre but there is one in the main library.

And you can also look at his Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe, which whilst being old has excellently clear diagrams (and a longish description of each species). Again, there are copies in the library.

There are keys in the Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe by Hayward and Ryland, if you're collecting species from the sea or shore. We have a few copies of this book.

You'll want to check the names with the Natural History Museum's Dictionary of UK Species to make sure you've got the latest versions for your labels.

You might want to look at some identified specimens on FishBase but remember that you have to show you can identify using a key - it's not just about being able to match a fish to a photo, or "knowing" it's a roach because you're an experienced angler... you have to be able to explain why in your notebook.

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