The zoology Is a discipline related to biology that studies the life, development and evolution of all members of the Animalia Kingdom.
In addition to its link with biology , Zoology is also tied to the physiology, morphology, ecology And other studies on history and the environment.
The intention to study the characteristics of the animals has more than two millennia. The first records of the same occurred in Ancient Greece, because Aristotle The first zoologist.
This philosopher performed works describing the characteristics of the animals he observed, which gave him a Empirical character . The scientific characteristics of zoology began to be seen at the beginning of the Modern Age, with the Renaissance .
One of the facts that marked the development of zoology was the invention of the microscope By Anton van Leeuwenhoek. This allowed the detailed analysis of the different tissues and organs of the animals over time.
From left To der. Aristotle, Carl von Linné and Charles Darwin.
This made the study of animals more thorough and accurate. In addition, with this tool the world of animals was amplified, being able to observe different species that were not visible to the human eye.
Finally, the consolidation of zoology came through the theoretical approaches of different scientists biologists.
By the 1700s, the biologist Carl von Linné Was one of the first to classify and study the different species of animals, as well as the different plants.
The understanding of all phenomena previously seen on animals came with Charles Darwin And his theory of evolution, by understanding man as an animal that evolved from other species.
With Darwin, it was understood that all animals today had been the product of evolution and that this process did not stop.
General Zoology
It is the type of zoology that studies the most general characteristics of the animals, from a superficial and not deep, without making a taxonomic description.
Among its categories is morphology, anatomy, physiology or embryology, among others.
Morphology
It is one of the categories belonging to general zoology. This one tries to study the physical characteristics, with special emphasis on the exterior, of the animals.
It also focuses on the study of the shape of internal organs and the evolutionary origins that made them acquire these figures.
Physiology
Physiology, as part of zoology, is the branch that studies the functions of each of the organisms, in the physical and chemical realm.
This branch makes detailed analyzes and studies of the activities carried out by each part of the organism and the purpose with which it carries them out.
In turn, it is divided into two branches: general physiology, which studies the functions of organisms based on knowledge already acquired and experimental physiology that proposes new theories and studies in more detail the functions of organs.
Anatomy
When we talk about the body, we talk about anatomy. This science, which can be understood as part of zoology, studies the composition of the body of animals and their different and related relationships.
Both the generally symmetrical form and the number of organs it contains, such as the size and the connections it holds, are functions that are studied by people dedicated to anatomy.
Embryology
As its name indicates, it is the scientific branch that is in charge of studying the formation and development of the embryos in the different animals in which they are produced.
Within this science there are different specialties such as descriptive embryology, focused on the morphological, comparative, comparing the embryo with taxonomic groups and the experimental, directed to experimental embryonic studies.
Ethology
It is the branch of general zoology that is responsible for studying the behavior of animals in their natural habitat, as well as their role with the environment in which they develop.
Ethology studies everything related to behavior: the reasons that lead to the development of such actions, their evolution throughout animal history and the instinct they develop.
Through ethology, it is possible to determine how animals are in a given environment and what is what makes them behave in a certain way.
Special Zoology
It is the other great category of zoology. It deals with very different areas, but not directly related to the composition of the body of the animals or their behavior in the environment, but of classification and evolutionary study. Some of the areas played by this type of zoology are:
Taxonomy
In order to fully understand the animal kingdom, it is essential to know where in the large family each animal is located.
For this reason, the scientists in charge of taxonomy are responsible for locating to which family each species belongs and why it should be located there, as well as membership in the creation of new and different classifications.
Paleozoology
This branch of zoology is mainly directed to the study of animals, extinct or not, that are fossilized.
In this way, the history of a species or a family as a whole can be studied, the causes of its demobilization, evolution or extinction, the characteristics that stopped being dominant, among other situations.
Phylogeny
Finally, although all branches of zoology have some small influence of phylogeny, it is responsible for understanding and understanding, as well as for studying and investigating everything that relates to the field of evolution among animals.
The phylogeny studies the development of different species over millions of years, as well as the different ramifications of its evolution and the causes that led species to study different paths.
Studying phylogeny is in turn to study much of the history of Planet Earth, understanding it from the biological field and relating it to the animal world that exists today.
References
- Cliffe, B. (September 18, 2012). What does it look like to study... Zoology?. The Independent. Retrieved from theindependent.co.uk.
- The Thinker (s.f.) What is zoology? The Thinker. Recovered from educacion.elpensante.com.
- Eisenhower, D., Hickman, C., I'Anson, H., Larson, A. and Roberts, L. (2006). Integrated Principles of Zoology. McGraw Hill.
- González-Serrano, J. and Santos, T. (1998). Zoology: evolutionary approach to diversity and organization of animals. Madrid: Editorial Synthesis.
- Moreno, A. (s.f.). Notes of Zoology. Complutense University of Madrid. Recovered from ucm.es.
- Nordqvist, C. (March 7, 2017). Anatomy: What is it and why is it important? Medical News Today. Retrieved from medicalnewstoday.com.
- Zoological Society of Southern Africa (s.f.). Types of Zoologists. Zoological Society of Southern Africa. Retrieved from zssa.co.za.