carcinology

thumb|Various crustaceans, all of interest to carcinologists. Carcinology, from Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos), meaning "crab", and λόγος (lógos), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology that consists of the study of crustaceans. Crustaceans are a large traditional subphylum of arthropods classified by having a hard exoskeleton made of chitin or chitin and calcium, three body regions, and jointed, paired appendages. Crustaceans include lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, copepods, barnacles and crabs. Most crustaceans are aquatic, but some can be terrestrial, sessile, or parasitic. Other names for carcinology are malacostracology, crustaceology, and crustalogy, and a person who studies crustaceans is a carcinologist or occasionally a malacostracologist, a crustaceologist, or a crustalogist.

The word carcinology derives from Greek , karkínos, "crab"; and , -logia.