Carcinology

Not to be confused with oncology, the study of cancers and carcinomas.

Carcinology, from Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos), meaning "crab", and λόγος (lógos), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology that consists of the study of crustaceans. Crustaceans are a large traditional subphylum of arthropods classified by having a hard exoskeleton made of chitin or chitin and calcium, three body regions, and jointed, paired appendages.^[1] Crustaceans include lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, copepods, barnacles and crabs.^[2] Most crustaceans are aquatic, but some can be terrestrial, sessile, or parasitic. Other names for carcinology are malacostracology, crustaceology, and crustalogy, and a person who studies crustaceans is a carcinologist or occasionally a malacostracologist, a crustaceologist, or a crustalogist.

Various crustaceans, all of interest to carcinologists.

The word carcinology derives from Greek καρκίνος, karkínos, "crab"; and -λογία, -logia.

Subfields

Carcinology is a subdivision of arthropodology, the study of arthropods which includes arachnids, insects, and myriapods.^[3] Carcinology branches off into taxonomically oriented disciplines such as:^[4]

• astacology – the study of crayfish
• cirripedology – the study of barnacles
• copepodology – the study of copepods

Journals

Scientific journals devoted to the study of crustaceans include:

• Crustaceana
• Journal of Crustacean Biology
• Nauplius

Famous carcinologists

• J.C. von Vaupel Klein, editor of Crustaceana

see: List of Carcinologists

See also

• Crustaceans portal
• Arthropods portal

• Entomology
• Publications in carcinology
• List of carcinologists