Zoology
Zoology is the branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior, and evolution of animals.
Gradually zoology expanded beyond Huxley's comparative anatomy to include the following sub-disciplines:
- Zoography, also known as descriptive zoology, describes animals and their habitats.
- Comparative anatomy studies the structure of animals.
- Animal physiology
- Molecular Biology studies the common genetic and developmental mechanisms of animals and plants
- Ethology is the study of animal behaviour.
- Behavioural ecology
- Evolutionary biology: See of both animals and plants is considered in the articles on evolution, population genetics, heredity, variation, Mendelism, reproduction.
- Systematics, cladistics, phylogenetics, phylogeography, biogeography and taxonomy classify and group species via common descent and regional associations.
- 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.
- Palaeontology
- Cryptozoology is the study of "hidden" or undiscovered animals. Still largely considered pseudo-scientific by most zoologists.
