With over 16,280 entries, this reference work fulfills the need for an academic work that combines the concise presentation of a dictionary with an etymology for each term, and includes the general scientific terms one would meet while studying vertebrate zoology. Vertebrate zoology is not studied in isolation, therefore the more common terms from the fields of Anatomy, Animal Behavior, Ecology, Embryology, Endocrinology, Evolution, Genetics, Physiology, Taxonomy and Zoogeography, as well as many terms covering sizes, shapes, colors, forms and textures have been included. Appendix 1 provides an indexed alphabetical annotated synopsis of vertebrate taxons, and includes over 2,960 Orders and Families, (plus 196 common synonyms). Appendix 2 defines Biogeographical and Zoogeographical Regions. Appendix 3 is an Outline of Geological Time and provides information about the principle Eons, Eras, Periods, and Epochs. Additionally there is a brief introduction to scientific Latin and Greek. This dictionary is a standard reference and will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in Vertebrate Zoology.