Invertebrate zoology is a subdiscipline of zoology focused on the biology of animals lacking a vertebral column, encompassing the vast majority of animal diversity across numerous phyla such as Arthropoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Cnidaria, and Echinodermata. It investigates morphological organization, developmental processes, phylogenetic relationships, functional anatomy, physiology, behavior, and ecological interactions of invertebrates. Research in this field often integrates comparative and evolutionary approaches, including systematics, genomics, and developmental biology, to elucidate patterns of body plan diversification, adaptation, and speciation, and to clarify the evolutionary relationships within and among major invertebrate lineages.
It's easy to take our eyes for granted. But our recent research shows they took an incredible evolutionary journey to reach their current familiar form.
Evolution
Apr 4, 2026
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The diversity of water strider species apparently developed as early as the Cretaceous period, much earlier than previously thought. SNSB researchers have succeeded in clarifying the phylogenetic history of this insect family, ...
Evolution
Jan 22, 2026
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Researchers from the University of Konstanz have studied how insect brains take in complex light stimuli and process them in parallel. They are the first to have found evidence that information is processed in different layers ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 21, 2026
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Penicillin, X-rays, vulcanized rubber—some of the greatest scientific discoveries happened by accident. Thanks to his love of invertebrates, William & Mary Biology Professor Jon Allen has added another entry to that list ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 9, 2025
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In a fruit fly, nerve cells that detect limb movement are silenced when the insect walks or grooms. This on-off switch may help the nervous system to shift between two states: one helps keep the body steady and the other ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 18, 2025
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Meet Heinrichiellus natgeo, a newly discovered species of parasitoid wasp. The species was described by Dr. Ranjith and Dr. Gavin R. Broad (The Natural History Museum, London, UK). Genetic data helped them determine the new ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2025
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Invertebrates, including insects, are poorly represented on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. The Red List, the world's most comprehensive information source on global conservation status, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2025
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Arrow worms, or chaetognaths, are strange ocean predators that have puzzled scientists for more than a century. They have transparent, torpedo-shaped bodies, sharp grasping spines near their mouths, and sensory structures ...
Evolution
Aug 14, 2025
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A team of zoologists, molecular engineers and pest control specialists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with a small team of colleagues from Peking University, has identified some of the enzymes and precursor compounds ...
