Zoology

Zoology (pronounced /zoʊˈɒlədʒi/ or /zuːˈɒlədʒi/^[1]), occasionally also spelt zoölogy, is the

Branches of Zoology

Anthropology · Anthrozoology Apiology · Arachnology Arthropodology · Cetology Conchology · Entomology Ethology · Helminthology Herpetology · Ichthyology Malacology · Mammalogy Myrmecology · Nematology Neuroethology · Ornithology Paleozoology · Planktology Primatology · Cryptozoology

Notable Zoologists

Georges Cuvier · Charles Darwin William Kirby · Carolus Linnaeus Konrad Lorenz · Thomas Say Alfred Russel Wallace · more...

branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior and evolution of animals.

Although the study of animal life is ancient, its scientific incarnation is relatively modern. This mirrors the transition from natural history to biology at the start of the nineteenth century. Since Hunter and Cuvier, comparative anatomical study has been associated with morphography shapins the modern areas of zoological investigation: anatomy, physiology, histology, embryology, and animal behaviour. Modern zoology first arose in German and British universities. In Britain, Thomas Henry Huxley was a prominent figure. His ideas were centered on the morphology of animals. Many consider him the greatest comparative anatomist of the latter half of the nineteenth century. Similar to Hunter, his courses were composed of lectures and laboratory practical classes in contrast the previous format of lectures only. This system became widely spread.

Gradually zoology expanded beyond Huxley's comparative anatomy to include the following sub-disciplines:

1. Zoography, also known as descriptive zoology, describes animals and their habitats.
2. Comparative anatomy studies the structure of animals.
3. Animal physiology
4. Molecular Biology studies the common genetic and developmental mechanisms of animals and plants
5. Ethology is the study of animal behaviour.
6. Behavioural ecology
7. Evolutionary biology: See of both animals and plants is considered in the articles on evolution, population genetics, heredity, variation, Mendelism, reproduction.
8. Systematics, cladistics, phylogenetics, phylogeography, biogeography and taxonomy classify and group species via common descent and regional associations.
9. The various taxonomically-oriented disciplines such as mammalogy, herpetology, ornithology identify and classify species and study the structures and mechanisms specific to those groups. Entomology is the study of insects, by far the largest group of animals.
10. Palaeontology