Ichthyology is the branch ofzoology devoted to the study offish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According toFishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2025.[1]
Fish represent approximately 8% of all figurative depictions onMimbres pottery.
The study of fish dates from theUpper 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 the human desire to feed, clothe, and equip themselves with useful implements. According toMichael Barton, a prominent ichthyologist and professor atCentre College, "the earliest ichthyologists werehunters 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 expressed these insights through abstract yet recognizable forms of artistic expression.
Aristotle incorporated ichthyology into formal scientific study. Between 333 and 322 BC, he provided the earliesttaxonomic classification of fish, accurately describing 117 species ofMediterranean fish.[4] Furthermore, Aristotle documentedanatomical and behavioral differences betweenfish andmarine mammals. After his death, some of his pupils continued his ichthyological research.Theophrastus, for example, composed atreatise on amphibious fish. The Romans, although less devoted to science, wrote extensively about fish.Pliny the Elder, a notable Romannaturalist, compiled the ichthyological works of indigenousGreeks, including verifiable and ambiguous peculiarities such as thesawfish andmermaid, respectively. Pliny's documentation was the last significant contribution to ichthyology until theEuropean Renaissance.
The writings of three 16th-century scholars,Hippolito Salviani,Pierre Belon, andGuillaume 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'sDe Piscibus Marinis is regarded as the most influential, identifying 244 species of fish.
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.Georg Marcgrave ofSaxony composed theNaturalis Brasilae in 1648. This document contained a description of 100 species of fish indigenous to theBrazilian coastline. In 1686,John Ray andFrancis Willughby collaboratively publishedHistoria 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 fromIchthyologia, sive Opera Omnia de Piscibus by Peter Artedi
The classification used within theHistoria Piscium was further developed byCarl Linnaeus, the "father of modern taxonomy". Histaxonomic approach became the systematic approach to the study of organisms, including fish. Linnaeus was a professor at theUniversity of Uppsala and an eminentbotanist; 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 additionalorders of fish: Malacopterygii, Acanthopterygii, Branchiostegi, Chondropterygii, andPlagiuri. Artedi developed standard methods for making counts and measurements of anatomical features that are modernly exploited. Another associate of Linnaeus,Albertus Seba, was a prosperouspharmacist fromAmsterdam. 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 asIchthyologia, sive Opera Omnia de Piscibus (1738). His refinement of taxonomy culminated in the development of thebinomial nomenclature, which is in use by contemporary ichthyologists. Furthermore, he revised the orders introduced by Artedi, placing significance onpelvic fins. Fish lacking this appendage were placed within the order Apodes; fish having abdominal, thoracic, or jugular pelvic fins were termed Abdominales, Thoracici, and Jugulares, respectively. However, these alterations were not grounded within evolutionary theory. Therefore, over a century was needed forCharles Darwin to provide the intellectual foundation needed to perceive that the degree of similarity in taxonomic features was a consequence ofphylogenetic relationships.
Close to the dawn of the 19th century,Marcus Elieser Bloch ofBerlin andGeorges Cuvier ofParis made attempts to consolidate the knowledge of ichthyology. Cuvier summarized all of the available information in his monumentalHistoire Naturelle des Poissons. This manuscript was published between 1828 and 1849 in a 22-volume series. This document describes 4,514 species of fish, 2,311 of these new to science. It remains one of the most ambitious treatises of the modern world. Scientific exploration of the Americas advanced knowledge of the remarkablediversity of fish.Charles Alexandre Lesueur was a student of Cuvier. He made a cabinet of fish dwelling within theGreat Lakes andSaint Lawrence River regions.
Adventurous individuals such asJohn James Audubon andConstantine Samuel Rafinesque figure in the faunal documentation of North America. They often traveled with one another. Rafinesque wroteIchthyologic Ohiensis in 1820. In addition,Louis Agassiz ofSwitzerland 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 atHarvard University until his death in 1873.
Albert Günther published hisCatalogue of the Fish of the British Museum between 1859 and 1870, describing over 6,800 species and mentioning another 1,700. Generally considered one of the most influential ichthyologists,David Starr Jordan wrote 650 articles and books on the subject and served as president ofIndiana University andStanford University.
Members of this list meet one or more of the following criteria: 1) Author of 50 or more fishtaxon names, 2) Author of major ichtyological reference work, 3) Founder of major journal or museum, 4) Person most notable for other reasons who has also worked in ichthyology.
^Gudger, E. W. (1934). "The Five Great Naturalists of the Sixteenth Century: Belon, Rondelet, Salviani, Gesner and Aldrovandi: A Chapter in the History of Ichthyology".Isis.22 (1):21–40.doi:10.1086/346870.JSTOR225322.S2CID143961902.
