Ichthyology

Ichthyology (from Greek: ἰχθύς, ikhthus, "fish"; and λόγος, logos, "study") is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). While a large number of species have been discovered and described, approximately 250 new species are officially described by science each year. According to FishBase, 32,200 species of fish had been described by March 2012. There are more fish species than the combined total of all other vertebrates: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.