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The study of animals is called zoology. This is not a strictly biological classification. Many groups that are technically included within another have been elevated in importance. Some small but biologically important groups have been omitted. |
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Also called porifera. Recent evidence suggests that these are the oldest and possibly original forms of animals.
These include the Ctenophores, Placozoa, and Cnidaria. This also includes the corals.
This and "higher" groups are grouped together in what is called the Bilateria, because their bodies have two symmetrical sides. These are called protostomes (mouth first) because in the developing embryo, the mouth opening develops first. This diverse group includs numerous miscellaneous small worms, rotifers, annelids, molluscs, nematodes, and arthropods.
This also includes the higher groupings, but includes echinoderms (starfish and kin), and chordates (especially including some marine "worms". These are called deuterostomes (mouth second) because in the embryonic development of these groups, the anus develops first, then the mouth.
This includes various subgroupings such as the jawless fishes, sharks, and bony fishes. These and the tetrapods are the vertebrates.
These (four footed) are further divided into modern groupings roughly equivalent to the amphibians, turtles (Formerly grouped with the reptiles), reptiles and birds (formerly considered a separate grouping), and mammals.
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Other sciences of physics, chemistry, and astronomy are indirectly connected to study of the animals. Earth science including geology, hydrospheric science, atmospheric science, physical geography, and geohistory is more intimately connected. |
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Zoology depends heavily on molecular biology, cytology, and organism biology. Animal behavior is particularly significant. Other areas of systematics are also significant. Microbes and protists (which are thought to be ancestral to animals), plants, and fungi, which are the major group most closely related to the animals, are all significant. The study of animals depends heavily on ecology and biohistory as well. Personal studies including the human body, psychology, and biography have some connections with animals. The connections with anthropology, culture, institutions, and sociology will be discussed in more detail as the site develops. The history of zoology, or the study of animals, can possibly be followed from prehistory, through antiquity, classical and medieval times, and modern history. Its future can also be considered. |
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