Cetology is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea. The term was coined in the mid-19th century from the Greek cetus ("whale") and -ology ("study").

Cetologists, or those who practice cetology, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics.

[edit] History

Observations about Cetacea have been recorded since at least classical times. Ancient Greek fishermen created an artificial notch on the dorsal fin of dolphins entangled in nets so that they could tell them apart years later.

Approximately 2,300 years ago, Aristotle carefully took notes on cetaceans while travelling on boats with fishermen in the Aegean Sea. In his book Historia animalium (History of animals), Aristotle was careful enough to distinguish between the baleen whales and toothed whales, a taxonomical separation still used today. He also described the Sperm Whale and the common dolphin, stating that they can live for at least twenty-five or thirty years. His achievement was remarkable for its time, because even today it is very difficult to estimate the life-span of advanced marine animals.

After Aristotle's death, much of the knowledge he had gained about cetaceans was lost, only to be re-discovered during the Renaissance.

"No branch of zoology is so much involved as that which is entitled Cetology" -William Scoresby (as qtd in Moby Dick)