The book "Zoology, Comprehensive Principles" is one of the widely recommended handbooks with 16 continuously improving editions and has been translated into many languages. Its global acceptance is mainly based on the renewal and updating of the content. The rapid evolution of molecular techniques, genetic analyses, bioinformatics, physiology, and other scientific fields has made it necessary to continuously revise many views, primarily related to phylogeny and the classification of animals, which should be integrated into a work like this. In this way, Greek students come into contact with the latest data in the science of Zoology.
Its use for over ten years by the academic community has proven that it serves as a reference work for Greek students of Biology, Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, and agricultural sciences with an animal focus. Zoology, as a core subject, provides knowledge that serves as a foundation for further deepening into many branches of biological sciences. The usefulness of the book extends to readers with related interests, as the extensive first part presents the principles of biological research and evolutionary theory. The largest section of the book is dedicated to highlighting animal diversity in all its aspects: structure, function, behavior, zoogeography, and ecology, always through the lens of evolution. Its main advantage is the comprehensive analysis of topics in the science of Zoology.
The structure of the book offers many advantages from a pedagogical perspective. Each chapter includes introductory texts, summaries, review questions, and bibliography. Closely tied to the texts are detailed diagrams and photographs. Special inserts present a summary of the main characteristics of animal taxa as well as other interesting information.
The scientific team that worked on the Greek rendition of the book is diverse and multi-faceted, as it consists of instructors from six of the country's higher education institutions: the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the University of Patras, the University of Crete, the University of Thessaly, and the University of Ioannina.
