Crossword clues for herpetology
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Herpetology \Her`pe*tol"o*gy\, n. [Written also, but less properly, erpetology.] [Gr. ? a creeping thing, reptile (fr. ? to creep) + -logy: cf. F. herp['e]tologie.] The natural history of reptiles; that branch of zo["o]logy which relates to reptiles, including their structure, classification, and habits.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. The branch of biology dealing with reptiles (''Reptilia'') or amphibians.
WordNet
n. the branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians
Wikipedia
Herpetology (from Greek "herpien" meaning "to creep") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and reptiles (including snakes, lizards, amphisbaenids, turtles, terrapins, tortoises, crocodilians, and the tuataras). Batrachology is a further subdiscipline of herpetology concerned with the study of amphibians alone.
Herpetology is concerned with poikilothermic, ectothermic tetrapods. Under this definition "herps" (or sometimes "herptiles" or "herpetofauna") exclude fish, but it is not uncommon for herpetological and ichthyological scientific societies to "team up", publishing joint journals and holding conferences in order to foster the exchange of ideas between the fields. One of the most prestigious organizations, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, is an example of this. Many herpetological societies exist today, having been formed to promote interest in reptiles and amphibians both captive and wild.
Herpetology offers benefits to humanity in the study of the role of amphibians and reptiles in global ecology, especially because amphibians are often very sensitive to environmental changes, offering a visible warning to humans that significant changes are taking place. Some toxins and venoms produced by reptiles and amphibians are useful in human medicine. Currently, some snake venom has been used to create anti-coagulants that work to treat stroke victims and heart-attack cases.
Usage examples of "herpetology".
While he tended to think of the man as a dried-up old prune, somewhere in Professor Rami’s shriveled chest apparently beat a heart: he could’ve just as easily assigned Daniel to the Herpetology Department.
Christine also had a stuffed passenger pigeon (the ROM’s Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology—the slapped-together catchall formed by merging the old ichthyology, herpetology, mammalogy, and ornithology departments—had about twenty of them).
When I was getting my herpetology degree, my roommate was so envious of a new toad I had discovered that he stole and ate my only specimen.
But when he went to a herpetology convention in Brussels last fall, his shock became greater.
Bravely today one devises something 'interdisciplinary': perhaps a pilot survey of Postlapsarian Herpetology and Pomegranate Culture.