paleozoology

thumb|upright=1.3|Priscacara liops, fish fossil from Wyoming

Palaeozoology or paleozoology (Greek: παλαιόν, palaeon "old" and ζῷον, zoon "animal") is the branch of paleontology and evolutionary biology that specifically deal with the study of prehistoric organisms from the kingdom Animalia and the recovery and identification of their fossil remains from geological (or even archeological) contexts. The field also extends to the use of these fossil records for reconstructive phylogeny (via comparative anatomy and phylogenetics) and paleoecology, i.e. the study of ancient natural environments and ecosystems.