Zoology is a branch of the biological sciences that try to understand the structure, behavior, function, diversity and evolution of animal life. In the nineteenth century, accompanying the discovery of natural selection by Charles Darwin, the study of animals became a professional scientific pursuit and since many different fields and approaches to this study have evolved: anatomy, physiology, embryology, genetics, ethology (the study of animal behavior), ecology, taxonomic classification, palaeontology and so on.
Some notable zoologists include Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith, Jane Goodall and Desmond Morris.