Book excerpt: This comprehensive work on the fishes of WV is the culmination of more than 20 years of res. Contains descriptions of the major river drainages in WV, a brief discussion of the zoogeog. of the fishes within the state, a table of fish dist. by drainage, a guide to the anatomical features used in fish ident., dichotomous keys to the families & species of WV fishes, physical descriptions of all fish species known or expected to occur in the state, & a glossary to supplement the species descriptions. Info. was gathered by: All major fish museums in the eastern U.S. were contacted & records of specimens collected were requested; museums with significant holdings of WV fishes were visited; & New fish surveys were conducted at approx. 1,000 sites throughout the state. Illus.