Nat Sci 2

Zoology
Chapter 1- Introduction to Zoology

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. define zoology.
2. know the history of zoology.
3. know the branches of zoology.
4. understand the importance of zoology.
The Science of Zoology
Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge. It is any systematic,
knowledge-based, or prescriptive practice capable of resulting in prediction. Its is a
system of acquiring information utilizing the scientific method in order to produce an
organized body of knowledge.
Science is divided into two: social sciences (study of human behavior and societies)
and natural sciences (study of natural phenomena)
Natural science is further divided into physical sciences (study of matter and energy)
and biological sciences (study of living organisms).
Zoology is a branch of biology that specifically deals with the study of animals-their
anatomy, physiology, evolution, reproduction, interactions, including embryology and
heredity, among others.
History of Zoology
Prehistoric man’s survival depended on his ability to hunt, which in turn shaped his
relations with other animals. Animals have been an essential part of human culture since
ancient times. We need one another to survive as we are social animals.

The history of zoology shows how the study of the animal kingdom has been organized
from ancient to modern times.

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, systematic study of zoology can be found in the works
of the two greatest philosophers of the ancient world.

The work of Islamic medicine and scholarship was developed in the Middle Ages by
European scholars such as Albertus Magnus.

The European Renaissance and early modern period gave rise to a renewed interest in
empiricism and the discovery of novel organisms that changed zoological thought in
Europe.
It is often difficult to appraise the historical development of any field of science since
advances are made by various scientists/scholars from many different places,
accumulating over several periods of time.
The history of science tells us about great men who have contributed a lot in the
progress of natural sciences.
Below is a part of the timeline in zoology follows:
Date of Scientist Contribution
Significant
Contribution
Hippocrates Established the biomedical tradition; he
450-370 BC was regarded as the “Father of Medicine”
Aristotle Considered as the founder of the science
384-322 BC of Zoology; called the Father of Zoology
Galen Regarded as the final authority on
130 BC-200 AD anatomical and physiological subjects
during his time; developed descriptions of
anatomy and physiology
Andreas Vesalius 1514- considered as the founder of modern
1564 anatomy, had profoundly changed not only
human anatomy, but also the intellectual
structure of medicine
1616 William Harvey (1578– First to describe blood circulation
1657)
1633 Rene Descartes Considered mathematics as the language
1596-1650 of science;
1652 Thomas Bartholin discovered the lymphatic system
1616-1680
1658 Jan Swammerdam described the red blood cells
1637-1680
1660 Marcello Malpighi demonstrated capillary action
1665 Robert Hooke 1635- discovered cells; Hooke's investigations
1703 were made with cork and the term "cell" fits
cork much better than it does animal cells,
but by tradition the misnomer has stayed
1672 Regnier de Graaf 1641- described the ovarian follicles
1673
1675-1680 Anton van Leeuwenhoek considered as the "Father of Microscopy";
1632-1723 his microscopic discoveries revealed a
whole new world of biology; discovered the
protozoans
1693 John Ray 1627-1705 introduced concepts about species;
although his work on classification was
 later overshadowed by that of Linnaeus,
Ray was the first to apply the concept of
species to a particular kind of organism
and point out the variations that exist
among the members of a species
1733 Stephen Hales 1677- pioneered the measurement of blood
1761 pressure; he was also a noted plant
physiologist
1758 Carolus Linnaeus 1707- introduced the binomial system of species
1778 classification; he provided taxonomists a
valuable working model of conciseness
and clarity that has never been surpassed
1774 Joseph Priestley 1733- discovered oxygen as a gas released by
1804 plants during photosynthesis; the discovery
of this element was of great biological
interest because it helped in determining
the nature of oxidation and the exact role
of respiration in organisms
1779 Joseph Priestley and discovered the concept of photosynthesis;
Jan Ingenhousz 1730- both were plant physiologists
1799
1796 Georges Cuvier 1769- introduced the study and development of
1832 vertebrate
1809 Jean-Baptiste de postulated the evolutionary concept of use
Lamarck 1744-1829 and disuse
1827 Karl Ernst von Baer discovered the mammalian ovum
1792-1876
Robert Brown 1773- provided the first observations of Brownian
1828 1858 movement (small particles suspended in a
liquid tend to move in random paths even if
the liquid is static)
1830 Karl Ernst von Baer formulated the Biogenetic Law
1843 Richard Owen 1804- introduced concepts of homology and
1892 analogy
1848 Carl Theodor Ernst von established the status of protozoa as
Siebold 1804-1885 single-celled organisms
1854 George Newport described the fertilization of a frog's ovum
by a spermatozoon
 1855 Rudolf Virchow 1821- proposed the concept of omnis cellula e
1902 cellula (every cell from a cell)-existing cells
come from pre-existing cells
1859-1860 Charles Darwin 1809- introduced the concept of natural selection
1882 Louis Pasteur as a factor and not in evolution; refutation
1822-1895 of spontaneous theory of generation

1860 Alfred Russel Wallace postulated the Wallace line of faunal

1823-1913 delimitation

1864 Ernst Haeckel 1834- introduced the concept of modern

1919 zoological classification

1866 Ernst Haeckel introduced the concept of nuclear control of

inheritance
1866 Gregor Mendel 1822- formulated the first two laws of heredity
1884
1874 Ernst Haeckel postulated the gastrea hypothesis of
metazoan ancestry
1875 Eduard Strasburger described mitotic cell division
1844-1912
1898 Henry Fairfield Osborn introduced concept of adaptive radiation in
1857-1935 evolution
1901 Hugo de Vries 1848- introduced the mutation theory of evolution
1935
1901 Thomas H. Montgomery described the homologous pairing of
1873-1912 maternal and paternal chromosomes in
zygotes
1869 Paul Langerhans 1847- discovered the islet cells in the pancreas
1888
1903 Theodor Boveri and postulated a parallelism between
1862-1915 Walter S. chromosome behavior and Mendelian
Sutton 1877-1916 segregation
1910 Thomas H. Morgan discovered sex linkage and definitively
1866-1945 linked trait inheritance to a specific
chromosome after a series of experiments
with Drosophila
1910 Paul Ehrlich 1854-1915 advocated the use chemotherapy in
1910 treatment of disease
1920 Reginald Oliver Herzog developed x-ray diffractometry
and Willy Jancke
1921 John N. Langley introduced the concept of a functional
autonomic nervous system
1934-1935 James Fredric Danielli proposed the concept of the cell
and Hugh Davson membrane as having a phospholipid
bilayer surrounded by outer and inner
 layers of globular protein
1937 Hans Adolf Krebs 1900- demonstrated the existence of citric acid
1981 cycle during aerobic respiration

1947 Barbara McClintock studied certain mutations in corn where

1902-1992 she developed the concept of mobile
genetic components (jumping genes)
1950 Erwin Chargaff 1902- discovered that the amount of purine bases
2002 are equal to the amount of pyrimidine
bases; this paved the way for the DNA
model of Watson and Crick
1953 Francis Crick and James postulated that DNA molecules are made
D. Watson up of two chains that are twisted to each
other forming a helical structure, a theory
that is widely accepted today
1954 Hugh Esmor Huxley and introduced the concept of the "sliding
Andrew Fielding Huxley filament theory" of muscle contraction,
which became widely accepted
1961 Peter Mitchell 1920- discovered the chemiosmotic coupling
1992 hypothesis
which states that the energy derived from
the electron transport chain (ETS) is used
to pump hydrogen ions across the inner
mitochondrial membrane, creating the
electro-chemical gradient
1970-1980s Stanley Ben Prusiner discovered prions, the proteinaceous
infectious particles that cause "mad cow
disease" in cattle
1972 Seymour Jonathan introduced the fluid mosaic model of the
Singer and Garth L. biological membranes; this is the most
Nicholson widely accepted model
1991 John Michael Bishop discovered oncogenes, the genes that
and Harold E. Varmus cause cancer
1996 lan Hilmut, Keith cloned the first female domestic sheep
Campbell, et al. (Dolly) from an adult somatic cell using the
somatic nuclear transfer method
2003 French and Chinese created "Ralph," the world's first cloned rat.
scientists Because rats proved to be harder to clone,
"Ralph" came after many other animals
have been cloned
Branches Of Zoology
Major Branches
Anatomy
• deals with the identification and description of the internal structure of animals.
Cytology
• study of cell structure, its cellular components, and their functions.
Ecology
• study of the relationship between living organisms and their ecosystem. It is the
study of the behavior in which organisms interact.
Embryology
• study of the features and the process of development of eggs after fertilization. It
involves the study of the embryo till birth.
Evolution
• study of the origin of animals, their heredity characteristics, and the adaptations
they adapt to survive.
Genetics
• study of heredity and all the variations occurring in genes.
Histology
• anatomical study of biological tissues, their structure, and functions
Morphology
• study of the shape, size, and structure of all living organisms.
Paleontology
• branch of zoology in which we study fossils, ancient lives, plants, animals, and
aquatic animals.
Physiology
• study of the organs and their functions in an animal body.
Taxonomy
• study of the system of naming and classification of animals and other organisms.
Zoogeography
• study of the geographical distribution of animals is called zoogeography.

Minor Branches
Other few smaller branches of zoology include:

• Herpetology (Study of reptiles and amphibians)

• Ichthyology (Study of fishes)
• Mammalogy (Study of mammals)
• Malacology (Study of animals with shells)
• Arachnology (Study of arachnids)
• Carcinology (Study of crustaceans and arthropods)
• Cetology (Study of marine animals)
• Nematology (Study of roundworms)
• Protozoology (Study of protozoa)
 • Entomology (Study of insects)
• Neonatology (Study of newborn animals)
• Ornithology (Study of birds)
• Primatology (Study of primates)

Importance of Zoology

All kinds of animals are studied in zoology. You can gain an understanding of the natural
world through the study of zoology, which looks into their biology, how and why behind
their environments, and ways to sustain their lives alongside humankind.

Considering ways to face global challenges such as climate change and food security,
trying to find solutions to help both animals and humans alike, is one thing that it offers.

Role of Zoology in Food Production: Humans depend on animals for their food.
Zoology has helped us to improve the quality and quantity of animals that provide us with
food like milk and eggs.

Role of Zoology in Industries: Different substances like honey, wax, and leather are
being used in industries. They are extracted from animals. Zoology has made the process
easy and helped in their better utilization. These things are now more profitable and
cheaper for daily use.

Role of Zoology in Agriculture: Zoology helps in studying and understanding the

organisms that benefit or harm crops and cause lower yields. It enables us to control them
or to use them in our favor. Due to the Zoology farmers have better understanding of the
harmful insects and the insects with positive impact.

Role of Zoology in Medical field: Most diseases are caused and transmitted through
animals. Zoology plays an important role in medicine in the way that the drugs are initially
tested on animals before they are used for human beings. Zoology provides the
knowledge of human physiology that has made surgery easy.

Role of Zoology in Genetics: We have a lot of information about our ancestors and
evolution. There have been a lot of events related to evolution that were studied under
the umbrella of zoology.

The altering of genes of an animal is a way towards a genetic modification. We have an

idea of what we need to improve, courtesy of Zoology. We can improve our race by having
progenies with great features and characters.
Recent Discoveries in Zoology

• The populations of long-head darter were discovered in Kentucky, New York,

North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This
specie existed earlier but was not seen in the last 80 years.
• In January 2022, the blanket octopus was discovered by marine biologist
Jacinta Shackleton.
• in March 2022, the rose-veiled fairy wrasse was discovered in Maldives
(twilight zone).
• In April 2022, ivory-billed woodpeckers were discovered. They were known
before 1944 but were officially declared extinct in 2021.
• Researchers from the University of Zurich discovered two families of dolphins
that were previously unknown in Switzerland.
• Researchers of the Royal Botanic Gardens in England discovered a genus of
water lily, named Victoria boliviana.

Prepared by: Mrs. Ledesma Molina