Richard Moore, professor of biology and assistant vice president for grants and research at Coastal Carolina University, is the co- author of an award-winning reference book on fish. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Texas, Louisiana and Adjacent Waters, Second Edition, co-written by H. Dickson Hoese, professor emeritus at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has been awarded the 2000 Texas Reference Source Award, an annual award given by the Texas Library Association.

For more than 20 years, Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico has been the premier reference work for identifying and classifying fish of northern Gulf waters. The latest edition is based on two decades of research and offers new information on deepwater habitats. The book provides accounts of 539 species, including 62 species not covered in the first edition. The new edition also features 225 new color photographs, including many underwater photos taken by Moore and the late Farley Sonnier.

Since the publication of the first edition in 1978, Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico has become a standard textbook for marine biology and ichthyology classes throughout the southeastern United States. The book, widely used by state and federal conservation agencies, was among Amazon.com's 50 best-selling books about fishes in January 1999.

Moore joined the Coastal faculty in 1974. He earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University and a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.