Definition
noun
A biological discipline that studies crustaceans
Supplement
Carcinology is a branch of zoology that deals with insectss. It is particularly one of the sub-fields of arthropodology. Arthropodology, in particular, is the biological science that studies arthropods. Arthropods are invertebrates (of the phylum Arthropoda) that are characterized mainly by possessing a hard chitinous exoskeleton and multiple paired jointed limbs. Since arthropodology involves the largest phylum of the animal kingdom it is further subdivided into these sub-disciplines: arachnology (the study of arachnids), entomology (the study of insects), carcinology (the study of crustaceans), and myriapodology (the study of myriapods).
Carcinology is primarily concerned with the studying of crustaceans. It attempts to study and understand various biological aspects of crustaceans, such as development, taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, genetics, evolution, distribution, and ecology of crustaceans. It has taxon-based subdivisions. An example is astacology. It is the study of crayfish. Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans characterized by their feather-like gills and morphological features similar to a lobster. Another sub-discipline is cirripedology, which is the study of barnacles. Copepodology is the sub-discipline that studies copepods.
An expert in this field is called a carcinologist. The carcinologist performs studies or research that are focused at understanding the biology of crustaceans as well as their identification and classification, evolutionary relationships, ecological relationships, and distribution.
Word origin: Greek karkínos (“crab”) + -logia (“study of”)
See also:
Dictionary > Carcinology
