If you’ve ever wondered about the differences and similarities between herpetology and helminthology, you’ve come to the right place. First of all, they both end in -logy. Secondly, they’re both subdisciplines of zoology, which is one of the main branches of biology. Zoology is the scientific study of animals and it’s all broken up into many subdisciplines. Here they are!
1. Arthropodology
Arthropodology is concerned with the study of arthropods. That’s insects, arachnids and anything from freshwater crustaceans to the creepiest crustaceans of the deep sea. Plus, you can add all of the others that have jointed limbs and exoskeletons to the list. Arthropoda is the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, and it has more than a million known species. So, it makes sense that the field would be divided into a couple of subfields, including the following:
Arachnology
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which includes spiders, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, etc. Basically, the creatures that have 8 legs and a body with 2 sections. You may think of spiders on their own if you hear arachnology, but the study of spiders alone is actually called araneology.
Entomology
The 2nd subfield under the arachnology umbrella is entomology, which is the study of insects and their relationship to humans, other organisms, and the environment. Since there are so many different insects, entomology is broken up into the following fields:
- Coleopterology: the study of beetles
- Dipterology: the study of flies
- Odonatology: the study of dragonflies and damselflies
- Hemipterology: the study of true bugs
- Isopterology: the study of termites
- Lepidopterology: the study of moths and butterflies
- Melittology: the study of bees
- Myrmecology: the study of ants
- Orthopterology: the study of grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
- Trichopterology: the study of caddisflies
- Vespalogy: the study of wasps
Acarology
While ticks and mites may be arachnids, they have their very own scientific study field. Acarology is concerned with the study of mites and ticks, which are two species that belong to the order Acarina, a subclass of arachnids.
Carcinology
The study of lobsters, crabs, shrimp, crayfish, krill, barnacles, and all other crustaceans also belongs to the arthropodology subdiscipline. They all have hard exoskeletons made of chitin/ chitin and calcium, three body regions, and jointed appendages. Carcinology is also called malacostracology, crustaceology, or crustalogy and it’s branched into different subfields, including:
- Astacology: the study of crayfish
- Cirripedology: the study of barnacles
- Copepodology: the study of copepods
Myriapodology
Myriapodology is the scientific study of myriapods. That includes the wingless creatures with a multi-segmented trunk and multiple legs (at least 9 pairs) running down either side. Think centipedes, millipedes, etc.
2. Ethology
The 2nd subdiscipline of zoology that we’re learning about is ethology. That’s the study of the behavior of non-human animals. In simple terms, it’s the scientific study of animal behavior. A very famous and notable example of someone in this field is Jane Goodall, the ethologist who studied the behavior of the chimpanzees in Tanzania.
3. Helminthology
Helminthology is a big word for the scientific study of something so tiny. It involves worms and especially parasitic worms, or helminths, like flukes, tapeworms, and roundworms.
4. Herpetology
Herpetology is the study of ectothermic tetrapods. That includes reptiles, like snakes, lizards, turtles, etc., and amphibians, like frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Herpetology can also be divided into different subfields, including:
- Batrachology: the study of frogs and other amphibians
- Ophiology: the study of snakes
- Saurology: the study of lizards
- Cheloniology: the study of turtles
5. Ichthyology
Ichthyology involves the study of all types of fish, including your little bony fish, cartilaginous fish, and even jawless fish. It’s a pretty broad field that includes all of the aquatic and cold-blooded animals with fins, gills, and backbones. You know, those that weren’t included in herpetology.
6. Malacology
Malacology is the field that’s all about mollusks, like snails, slugs, clams, and cephalopods, which includes octopuses and squids. It’s the second largest phylum of animals, which is why it’s also divided into various fields, like:
- Conchology: the study of mollusk shells
- Teuthology: the study of cephalopods, like octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish
7. Mammalogy
It’s all in the name. Mammalogy is concerned with the scientific study of all mammals and that includes humans. Mammals are creatures or vertebrates with fur, homeothermic metabolisms, hearts with four chambers, and complex nervous systems. It’s branched into the following subfields:
Cetology
Cetology is a branch of marine mammal science, and it includes the study of dolphins, porpoises, and whales, like killer whales and sperm whales. It includes more than 80 different species across the board.
Primatology
Primates are probably the most popular mammals and their dedicated study field is called primatology. It focuses on non-human primates, like lemurs, monkeys, apes, gorillas, bonobos, and tarsiers.
8. Nematology
Remember how nematodes, or roundworms in particular, were included into helminthology? It turns out that they’ve also got their very own subdiscipline of zoology. Nematology is the scientific study of nematodes, or roundworms. Because they’re parasites that need to be kept in check, here are many topics in Nematology, including:
- Nematode biology: the anatomy physiology, life cycles and reproduction of nematodes
- Nematode ecology: the interaction of nematodes with other organisms and their impact on soil health
- Plant nematology: the study of plant-parasitic nematodes and their impact on crops
- Animal nematology: the study of human and animal parasitic nematodes
- Nematode control: the study and development of strategies to manage nematode populations
9. Ornithology
Finally, the last animal-focused subdiscipline of zoology is the scientific study of birds. It’s known as ornithology and it includes all types of birds, from the tiniest hummingbirds to large, flightless birds, like ostriches.
