From Plotzk to Boston

Zoology is the biological science that investigates the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, and how they interact with their ecosystems. During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, zoology adopted an increasingly professional scientific approach. Explorer-naturalists such as Alexander von Humboldt investigated interaction between organisms and their environment, and cell theory opened up new perspectives on the fundamental processes of life. Darwin's insights united morphology and physiology into a common biological theory: the theory of organic evolution. This resulted in a reconstruction of the re-classification of animals on a genealogical basis, new approaches to the development of animals, and early attempts to determine genetic relationships between them.