With its focus on the principles of animal biology, Edwin George Potter's Essentials of Zoology is an ideal textbook for both college and high school students. From invertebrates to vertebrates, this book covers all the major groups of animals, with an emphasis on evolution and ecology. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Zoölogy is the science of animals. This was the definition centuries ago, when zoölogy was almost exclusively the classification and naming of animals. Since that time there has arisen a vast body of doctrine concerning modes of life, life processes, inter-relations of animals, development, distribution, and descent, most of which has little bearing on classification, which is now founded upon principles as basic as those underlying other branches of science. For the purposes of this volume, anything that has to do with animals is part of zoölogy. This book is, in practice, one long definition of zoölogy. It includes morphology, physiology, ecology, zoögeography, paleontology, taxonomy, and evolution as part of the zoölogical sciences. This book, being a general discussion, will contain elementary facts and principles from each of these branches of science. Students should find it a useful exercise to stop and reflect which of the divisions of zoölogy are, at any given moment, actually being studied.

Emphasizing the central role of evolution in generating diversity, this book describes animal life and the adaptations that enable animals to inhabit so many ecological niches. It includes a comprehensive coverage of biological and zoological principles, mechanisms of evolution, diversity, physiology, and ecology, organized into five parts.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.