Editing Ichthyology (section)

=== 335 BC–80 AD ===

[[Aristotle]] incorporated ichthyology into formal scientific study. Between 333 and 322 BC, he provided the earliest [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] classification of fish, accurately describing 117 species of [[Mediterranean]] fish.<ref name=Gudger1934>{{cite journal |last1=Gudger |first1=E. W. |title=The Five Great Naturalists of the Sixteenth Century: Belon, Rondelet, Salviani, Gesner and Aldrovandi: A Chapter in the History of Ichthyology |journal=Isis |date=1934 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=21–40 |doi=10.1086/346870 | jstor = 225322 |s2cid=143961902 }}</ref> Furthermore, Aristotle documented [[anatomy|anatomical]] and behavioral differences between [[fish]] and [[marine mammal]]s. After his death, some of his pupils continued his ichthyological research. [[Theophrastus]], for example, composed a [[treatise]] on amphibious fish. The Romans, although less devoted to science, wrote extensively about fish. [[Pliny the Elder]], a notable Roman [[natural history|naturalist]], compiled the ichthyological works of indigenous [[Ancient Greece|Greek]]s, including verifiable and ambiguous peculiarities such as the [[sawfish]] and [[mermaid]], respectively. Pliny's documentation was the last significant contribution to ichthyology until the [[European Renaissance]].