History of Zoology

Zoology

also known as animal science, is one of the fields of biological sciences that deals with animals.

Zoology

It studies the morphological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics of animals, from microscopic to macroscopic structures. It also includes the evolutionary, taxonomical, and ecological perspectives on animal life

morphological
anatomical
physiological

Zoology studies the ________, _______, and _______ characteristics of animals, from microscopic to macroscopic structures. It also includes the evolutionary, taxonomical, and ecological perspectives on animal life

evolutionary
taxonomical
ecological

It studies the morphological, anatomical, and physiological characteristics of animals, from microscopic to macroscopic structures. It also includes the _______, _______, and ________ perspectives on animal life

Ancient Greeks

First rational/systematic study of animals.

Ancient Greeks

· Focused on direct descriptions of living things.

Aristotle

Father of Zoology

Aristotle

Created the science of biology.

Aristotle

Attempted a comprehensive classification of animals.

Aristotle

Established a hierarchy of animals based on structure.

Pliny the Elder

Historia Naturalis, encyclopedia of nature; Volumes VII–XI on zoology, Volume VIII on land animals.

Galen

animal dissections; works became medical standard in the Middle Ages.

Middle Ages & Renaissance

Zoology followed Aristotelian tradition but shifted to direct observation.

Andreas Vesalius

De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body); modern Western medicine; used animal parts in anatomy.

Conrad Gessner

Historiae Animalium; start of modern zoology; Father of Modern Zoology.

William Harvey

demonstrated blood circulation (Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis, 1628).

Hans & Zacharias Janssen

credited with early microscopes (not formally recognized).

Robert Hooke

Micrographia (1665); coined the term cell.

John Ray

· classified animals by anatomy – Vertebrates & Invertebrates.

Marcello Malpighi & Jan Swammerdam

discoveries on capillaries, insect development.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

improved microscopes (up to 250x);

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

discovered bacteria and protozoa (“animalcules”).

Carolus Linnaeus

introduced binomial nomenclature in Systema Naturae (1735); foundation of taxonomy.

Georges Cuvier

established fundamental taxonomic groups.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

proposed one of the first theories of evolution.

Matthias Schleiden & Theodor Schwann

Cell Theory: cells are the structural unit of life.

Rudolf Virchow

· refined Cell Theory: cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace

theory of evolution by natural selection.

20th Century

Zoology became a laboratory-based science.

Nikolaas Tinbergen

pioneer of ethology (animal behavior studies).

James Watson & Francis Crick

discovered DNA structure.

Desmond Morris

applied ethology to humans in The Naked Ape.

Edward O. Wilson

developed sociobiology, promoted biodiversity conservation.

molecular biology, genetics, ecology, and conservation.

Today, zoology integrates ________, ________, ______, and ________.

habitat destruction
species extinction.

today, zoology faces modern challenges: _________ and ________.