Saltier than any ocean and warm as bath water, the Red Sea is home to an amazing variety of species. Mallory combines vivid underwater photos and a difficult but intriguing text to detail how these unusual plants and animals feed, breed, and protect themselves; bioluminescence, protective coloration, poisonous spines, symbiosis, and electric organs--all play roles in this specialized environment. The author's comparisons are apt: Of the spines in soft corals, he notes that ``These needles act rather like the poles in a pup tent.'' The most difficult words (e.g., ``tapetum'' and ``zooxanthellae'') appear in a brief glossary, but readers are left to puzzle out ``wrasse'' and ``mangrove forest.'' An attractive addition to the ``New England Aquarium Books.'' Endpapers show the worldwide locations of coral reefs; additional maps; glossary; further reading; index. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
