Zoology Terms
Zoology is the study of animals: their structure, development, diversity and evolution. These terms cover how animals are named and classified, from species to phylum, major groups such as chordates, mammals and arthropods, and how animals manage their body heat and develop.
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- ChordateZoologyA chordate is an animal of the phylum Chordata, which at some stage has a notochord, pharyngeal slits, a hollow dorsal nerve cord and a tail.
- Convergent evolutionEvolutionConvergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar traits in unrelated lineages that face similar environmental pressures.
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- EctothermZoologyAn ectotherm is an animal whose body temperature depends mainly on heat from its surroundings rather than on heat made by its own metabolism.
- EndothermZoologyAn endotherm is an animal that keeps its body warm mainly with heat produced by its own metabolism, as mammals and birds do.
- EusocialityEntomologyEusociality is the most complex form of animal social life, in which colony members share brood care and only a few reproduce while the rest work.
- ExoskeletonEntomologyAn exoskeleton is a hard external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, as in insects, spiders and crustaceans.
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- HelminthParasitologyA helminth is a parasitic worm, such as a roundworm, tapeworm or fluke, that lives in a host and is usually visible to the eye as an adult.
- Homologous structuresEvolutionHomologous structures are body parts in different species that share an underlying plan because they were inherited from a common ancestor.
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- InsectEntomologyAn insect is an arthropod with a body divided into head, thorax and abdomen, three pairs of jointed legs, one pair of antennae and usually wings.
- InvertebrateZoologyAn invertebrate is any animal without a backbone, a broad grouping that includes insects, worms, mollusks, jellyfish and most animal species.
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- PheromoneEntomologyA pheromone is a chemical signal released by an animal that triggers a specific behavior or physiological response in other members of its species.
- PhylumZoologyA phylum is a major rank in biological classification, below kingdom and above class, grouping organisms that share a basic body plan.
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- Sexual selectionEvolutionSexual selection is a form of natural selection in which traits spread because they help individuals win mates, even when they make survival harder.
- SpeciesEvolutionIn biology, a species is a set of populations whose members can interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring, isolated from other such sets.
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- TapewormParasitologyA tapeworm is a parasitic flatworm of the class Cestoda that lives in the intestines of vertebrates and absorbs food through its body surface.
- TaxonomyZoologyIn biology, taxonomy is the science of describing, naming and classifying organisms into a nested hierarchy of groups such as genus, family and order.
- ThermoregulationPhysiologyThermoregulation is the set of processes an organism uses to keep its body temperature within a set range by balancing heat gain and heat loss.
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