Zoology is a specific branch of biology, that studies the animal kingdom,
derived from the Ancient Greek zōion meaning "animal" and logos, meaning “study”, translating to “the study of animals”.
Under zoology there are many branches (specific fields of study) that researchers focus or specialise in. Think of it like the branches of a tree that split or as an umbrella.
Just as biology includes such fields like microbiology, botany, genetics, biochemistry and anatomy, zoology also can be further broken down into specific fields such as; ecology, ornithology, entomology and so on.
Scientists love labeling and breaking things down, hence why there is so many different branches or sub-disciplines. Here are some examples of the branches under zoology, and their definitions.
Taxonomic Sub-Disciplines
ARACHNOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
arachnē
meaning “spider” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of spiders”.
The scientific study of spiders and other arachnids such as harvestmen, scorpions and pseudoscorpions. Arachnology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as:
acarology – the study of ticks and mites
araneology – the study of spiders
scorpiology – the study of scorpions
ENTOMOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
entomon
meaning “insect” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of insects”.
The scientific study of species in the class insecta or insects. Entomology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Coleopterology – the study of beetles
Dipterology – the study of flies
Odonatology – the study of dragonflies and damselflies
Lepidopterology – the study of moths and butterflies
Melittology (or Apiology) – the study of bees
HERPETOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
herpein
meaning “to creep” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of those that creep”.
The scientific study of poililothermic ectothermic tetrapods (herpetofauna) or amphibians and reptiles. Herpetology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Batrachology – the study of amphibians
Ophiology (or Ophidiology) – the study of snakes
Saurology– the study of lizards
Cheloniology (or testudinology) – the study of turtles and tortoises
ICHTHYOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
ikhthys
meaning “fish” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of fish”.
The scientific study of fish, including the bony fish (Osteichthyes), the cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and the jawless fish (Agnatha).Ichthyology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Osteichthyology – Study of bony fish
Chondrichthology – Study of cartilaginous fish
Elamobranchology – Study of sharks
MAMMALOGY:
Derived from the Late Latin mammalismeaning “of the breast” and the Ancient Greek logia, meaning “study of”.
The scientific study of mammals,
Also known as “mastology,” “theriology,” and “therology”. Mammalogy can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Primatology – Study of primates
Cetology – Study of cetaceans
Cynology – The study of canines
Chiropterology – The study of bats
ORNITHOLOGY:
Derived from the
Ancient Greek
ornis
meaning “birds” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of birds”.
The scientific study of the aves, a class of
vertebrates which comprises the birds.
Other Sub-Disciplines
ECOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
oîkos
meaning “environment” and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of the environment”.
The scientific study of the interactions among organisms and their abiotic environment. Ecology includes the study of such things as, but not limited to:
Biodiversity and population distribution
Biomass
interactions such as competition or cooperation between species
relationship between flora and fauna (plants and animals).
Ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, water cycle, niche construction, pedogenesis
ETHOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
ethos
meaning “character" and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of animal character”.
The scientific study of animal behaviour, also called behaviourism or animal behaviourism. Ethologists focus on behaviour under natural conditions as an evolutionary adaptive trait, by measuring responses to stimuli or behavioural responses both observed in the wild and under lab conditions. Ethology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Reproductive zoologist
Neurobiologist / cognitive zoologist
Comparative psychology
MORPHOLOGY:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
morphé
meaning “form" and logia, meaning “study of”, translating to “the study of form”.
The scientific study of the form and structure of an animal and the specific structural features of that species such as external appearance or morpology (colour, shape, pattern, ect.) and internal morphology (anatomy).
Morphology can be further divided into specific sub-disciplines such as, but not limited to:
Morphometry: Study of the quantitative analysis of shape and size
Neuromorphology: Study of the nervous system
Phenetics: (or taximetrics) Study of classifying organisms based on overall similarity in morphology
PHYLOGENETICS:
Derived from the Ancient Greek
phylon
meaning “clan, tribe" and
genetikós meaning “origin, source, birth”
The scientific study of the evolutionary relationship and history of groups or individual species / populations by means of using methods such as DNA sequencing, morphology or other observable heritable traits. The result of these form phylogenetic trees, diagrams that show the history and relationship of species (like the image below).
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