Ichthyology

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ichthyology covers a diverse range of body forms and sizes.

Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October 2016, with approximately 250 new species described each year.[1][citation needed]

Etymology

The word is derived from the Greek words ἰχθύς, ikhthus, meaning "fish"; and λογία, logia, meaning "to study".[2][3]

History

Mimbres pottery
.

The study of fish dates from the Upper Paleolithic Revolution (with the advent of "high culture"). The science of ichthyology was developed in several interconnecting epochs, each with various significant advancements.

The study of fish receives its origins from humans' desire to feed, clothe, and equip themselves with useful implements. According to

hunters and gatherers
who had learned how to obtain the most useful fish, where to obtain them in abundance, and at what times they might be the most available". Early cultures manifested these insights in abstract and identifiable artistic expressions.

1500 BC–40 AD

Informal, scientific descriptions of fish are represented within the

Mugilidae
.

335 BC–80 AD

European Renaissance
.

European Renaissance

The writings of three 16th-century scholars, Hippolito Salviani, Pierre Belon, and Guillaume Rondelet, signify the conception of modern ichthyology. The investigations of these individuals were based upon actual research in comparison to ancient recitations. This property popularized and emphasized these discoveries. Despite their prominence, Rondelet's De Piscibus Marinis is regarded as the most influential, identifying 244 species of fish.

16th–17th century

The incremental alterations in navigation and shipbuilding throughout the Renaissance marked the commencement of a new epoch in ichthyology. The Renaissance culminated with the era of exploration and colonization, and upon the cosmopolitan interest in navigation came the specialization in naturalism.

Historia Piscium
, a scientific manuscript containing 420 species of fish, 178 of these newly discovered. The fish contained within this informative literature were arranged in a provisional system of classification.

Frontispiece from Ichthyologia, sive Opera Omnia de Piscibus by Peter Artedi

The classification used within the Historia Piscium was further developed by

University of Uppsala and an eminent botanist; however, one of his colleagues, Peter Artedi, earned the title "father of ichthyology" through his indispensable advancements. Artedi contributed to Linnaeus's refinement of the principles of taxonomy. Furthermore, he recognized five additional orders of fish: Malacopterygii, Acanthopterygii, Branchiostegi, Chondropterygii, and Plagiuri. Artedi developed standard methods for making counts and measurements of anatomical features that are modernly exploited. Another associate of Linnaeus, Albertus Seba, was a prosperous pharmacist from Amsterdam
. Seba assembled a cabinet, or collection, of fish. He invited Artedi to use this assortment of fish; in 1735, Artedi fell into an Amsterdam canal and drowned at the age of 30.

Linnaeus posthumously published Artedi's manuscripts as Ichthyologia, sive Opera Omnia de Piscibus (1738). His refinement of taxonomy culminated in the development of the

phylogenetic
relationships.

Modern era

Close to the dawn of the 19th century,

Saint Lawrence River
regions.

Adventurous individuals such as John James Audubon and Constantine Samuel Rafinesque figure in the faunal documentation of North America. They often traveled with one another. Rafinesque wrote Ichthyologic Ohiensis in 1820. In addition, Louis Agassiz of Switzerland established his reputation through the study of freshwater fish and the first comprehensive treatment of palaeoichthyology, Poisson Fossil's. In the 1840s, Agassiz moved to the United States, where he taught at Harvard University until his death in 1873.

Indiana University and Stanford University
.

Modern publications

Publication Frequency Date of publication Publisher
Ichthyology & Herpetology Quarterly 27 December 1913 American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Journal of Applied Ichthyology Bi-monthly 1985 Blackwell Publishing
Ichthyological Bulletin Irregular January 1956 Rhodes University

Organizations

Organizations Organizations
  • North American Native Fish Association
  • Panhellenic Society of Technologists Ichthyologists[5]
  • Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
  • Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology
  • Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
  • Southeastern Fish Council
  • Southwestern Association of Naturalists
  • The World Conservation Union

Notable ichthyologists

Members of this list meet one or more of the following criteria: 1) Author of 50 or more fish taxon names, 2) Author of major reference work in ichthyology, 3) Founder of major journal or museum, 4) Person most notable for other reasons who has also worked in ichthyology.

See also

  • Ichthyology terms
  • Ichthyology and GIS
  • Meristics

References

  1. ^ FishBase: October 2016 Update. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  2. Perseus Project
  3. Perseus Project
  4. S2CID 143961902
    .
  5. ^ "Panhellenic Society of Technologists Ichthyologists". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20.

Additional references

External links