Invertebrate zoology is the subdiscipline of zoology that consists of the study of invertebrates, animals without a backbone (a structure which is found only in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). Invertebrates are a vast and very diverse group of animals that includes sponges, echinoderms, tunicates, numerous different phyla of worms, molluscs, arthropods and many additional phyla. Single-celled organisms or protists are usually not included within the same group as invertebrates.
Subdivisions Invertebrates represent 97% of all named animal species, and because of that fact, this subdivision of zoology has many further subdivisions, including but not limited to:
Arthropodology - the study of arthropods, which includes Arachnology - the study of spiders and other arachnids Entomology - the study of insects Carcinology - the study of crustaceans Myriapodology - the study of centipedes, millipedes, and other myriapods Cnidariology - the study of Cnidaria Helminthology - the study of parasitic worms. Malacology - the study of mollusks, which includes Conchology - the study of Mollusk shells. Limacology - the study of slugs. Teuthology - the study of cephalopods. Invertebrate paleontology - the study of fossil invertebrates These divisions are sometimes further divided into more specific specialties. For example, within arachnology, acarology is the study of mites and ticks; within entomology, lepidoptery is the study of butterflies and moths, myrmecology is the study of ants and so on. Marine invertebrates are all those invertebrates that exist in marine habitats.
History
Early Modern Era In the early modern period starting in the late 16th century, invertebrate zoology saw growth in the number of publications made and improvement in the experimental practices associated with the field. (Insects are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on Earth. They play important roles in ecosystems, including pollination, natural enemies, saprophytes, and biological information transfer.) One of the major works to be published in the area of zoology was Conrad Gessner's Historia animalium, which was published in numerous editions from 1551 to 1587. Though it was a work more generally addressing zoology in the large sense, it did contain information on insect life. Much of the information came from older works; Gessner restated the work of Pliny the Elder and Aristotle while mixing old knowledge of the natural history of insects with his own observations. With the invention of the Microscope in 1599 came a new way of observing the small creatures that fall under the umbrella of invertebrate. Robert Hooke, who worked out of the Royal Society in England, conducted observation of insects—including some of their larval forms—and other invertebrates, such as ticks. His Micrographia, published in 1665, included illustrations and written descriptions of the things he saw under the microscope. Others also worked with the microscope following its acceptance as a scientific tool. Francesco Redi, an Italian physician and naturalist, used a microscope for observation of invertebrates, but is known for his work in disproving the theory of spontaneous generation. Redi managed to prove that flies did not spontaneously arise from rotting meat. He conducted controlled experiments and detailed observation of the fly life cycle in order to do so. Redi also worked in the description and illustration of parasites for both plants and animals. Other men were also conducting research into pests and parasites at this time. Felix Plater, a Swiss physician, worked to differentiate between two types of tape worm. He also wrote descriptions of both the worms he observed and the effects these worms had on their hosts. Following the publication of Francis Bacon's ideas about the value of experimentation in the sciences came a shift toward true experimental efforts in the biological sciences, including invertebrate zoology. Jan Swammerdam, a Dutch microscopist, supported an effort to work for a 'modern' science over blind belief in the work of ancient philosophers. He worked—like Redi—to disprove spontaneous generation using experimental techniques. Swammerdam also made a number of advancements in the study of anatomy and physiology. In the field of entomology, he conducted a number of dissections of insects and made detailed observations of the internal structures of these specimens. Swammerdam also worked on a classification of insects based on life histories; he managed to contribute to the literature proving that an egg, larva, pupa, and adult are indeed the same individual.
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