From ancient survival to modern science: the long, winding history of studying fish

Nature · Published 29 September 2026 · Updated 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Ichthyology is the branch of zoology dedicated to the study of fish, a field that evolved from the practical needs of prehistoric hunters to a rigorous scientific discipline. Today, we recognize over 35,000 species, but the path to this understanding involved centuries of exploration, taxonomy, and tragic accidents.

The roots of ichthyology stretch back to the Upper Paleolithic, when early humans observed fish behavior to secure food and resources. While ancient cultures captured these insights through art, formal scientific study began with Aristotle. Between 333 and 322 BC, he classified 117 Mediterranean species and distinguished fish from marine mammals. This foundation remained largely stagnant until the 16th century, when scholars like Guillaume Rondelet shifted the focus from ancient texts to direct research, identifying 244 species in his influential work, De Piscibus Marinis.

The 17th and 18th centuries accelerated this progress through global exploration and systematic classification. John Ray and Francis Willughby published Historia Piscium in 1686, cataloging 420 species. This work paved the way for Peter Artedi, often called the father of ichthyology, who developed standardized measurement methods. Tragically, Artedi died in an Amsterdam canal in 1735 at age 30, leaving his manuscripts to be published posthumously by his colleague Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus’s binomial nomenclature remains the standard for naming fish today, though his early classification systems lacked the evolutionary context later provided by Charles Darwin.

By the 19th century, the field reached new levels of ambition. Georges Cuvier’s 22-volume Histoire Naturelle des Poissons (1828–1849) described 4,514 species, nearly half of which were new to science. Later, Albert Günther’s catalogue for the British Museum documented over 6,800 species. These efforts were bolstered by figures like Louis Agassiz, who pioneered the study of fossil fish, and David Starr Jordan, who authored hundreds of works. As of March 2025, FishBase reports that 35,800 fish species have been described, reflecting a journey from simple survival strategies to a complex, global scientific endeavor.

The discipline continues to evolve, moving beyond mere cataloging to understand the phylogenetic relationships between bony, cartilaginous, and jawless fish. From the early observations of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee to the modern digital databases used by researchers, ichthyology remains a testament to the human drive to categorize the diversity of life beneath the water's surface.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• The tragic canal accident that robbed science of its first great fish expert
• The self-taught taxidermist who revolutionized our understanding of freshwater fish
• These ancient marine reptiles were not dinosaurs, but they ruled the prehistoric oceans.
• The earliest vertebrates were jawless, armored filter-feeders that thrived in ancient, mysterious waters.
• Osteolepis: The Ancient Lobe-Finned Fish That Bridges the Gap to Land-Dwelling Vertebrates
• The thumb spike that was once a nose horn
• Sacred mud-probers that are not one tidy family tree
• Bangladesh's national fish that runs up monsoon rivers
• How the world's most endangered cat clawed its way back from the brink
• The star-shaped spice that once fueled a global race for flu medicine
• Can a film about Tourette syndrome be both an uplifting drama and medically inaccurate?
• Ilya Rozanov: The Fictional Hockey Star Who Transcended His Own Created Rivalry

More in Organisms · More in Nature · Latest · A–Z · All topics