One may postulate that man’s interest in fish emerged as soon as he was able to express his thoughts and notions as fish, among other animals, were subject of early communications. These were ...transmitted first by drawings, later by inscriptions and in writings. It was but much later that fishes began to occupy man’s interest as objects of science. Aristotle’s treatises on “History of Animals” is the first known document dealing with fish as a zoological object. No earlier than in the 16th century fish regained the interest of learned men, among these Olaus Magnus (1490 –1557), Gregor Mangolt (1498–1576), Guillaume Rondelet (1507–1557), Pierre Belon (1512–1564), Hippolyto (Ippolito) Salviani (1513–1572) and, above all, Conrad Gesner (1516–1565). The 17th and more so the 18th century is known as the period of Enlightenment. Respect must be paid to three pioneers in this field, i.e. Francis Willughby (1635–1672), Peter Artedi (1705–1735), and Marc Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) who became clearly aware that the class of fish consists of species which may be classified and typically described as such. After the species concept had been embodied in the scientific way of thinking by Linné, a tremendous expansion of activities emerged in the field of ichthyology. Many different regions and aquatic localities were researched and described by their fish fauna. In the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century ichthyology was dominated by disciplines such as taxonomy, descriptive biology and classification. This was followed by more advanced physiological, ecological and ethological research on fishes, yielding quite new insights in modern ichthyology. Nowadays research is largely orientated towards aspects of applied ichthyology, i.e. fishery biology and aquaculture. Fish and ichthyological records, respectively, proceeded discontinuously and recurred periodically. Many scientific questions on fish still remain unsolved, allowing ichthyologists of today to continue working on this highly diverse and species-rich group of vertebrates. In the future new challenges in ichthyology will be emerging in the fields of a) taxonomy, b) evolution and systematics, c) population biology, d) ecology, e) studying unknown regions for their fish fauna, f) expanding and improving an international global catalogue of fishes, g) exploring and analysing not yet recognized literature.
Moglo bi se zaključiti da je čovjekovo zanimanje za ribe iskrsnulo čim je čovjek postao sposoban za izražavanje pojmova i misli, jer riba je, zajedno sa ostalim životinjama, bila tema rane ljudske komunikacije. Prvo su ove misli bile izražene kroz crteže, a kasnije kroz simbole i pisani tekst. Ribe su postale predmetom znanstvenog istraživanja znatno kasnije. Aristotelovo djelo “Povijest životinja” je prvi poznati zapis koji se bavi ribama kao objektom znanosti o životinjama. Tek u 16. stoljeću pitanje riba je ponovo zaokupilo zanimanje prosvijećenog čovjeka, izmedju ostalih Olaus Magnusa (1490-1557), Gregora Mangolta (1498–1576), Guillaume Rondeleta (1507–1557), Pierre Belona (1512–1564), Hippolyto (Ippolito) Salviania (1513–1572), a povrh svega Conrad Gesnera (1516-1565). Sedamnaesto, a posebno osamnaesto stoljeće, poznata su kao razdoblja prosvjetljenja. Posebna zasluga se u tom vremenu mora odati trojici začetnika ihtiologije, Francis Willughbyu (1635–1672), Peter Artediju (1705–1735), te Marc Elieser Blochu (1723–1799), koji su već tada bili svjesni da se unutar klase riba mogu jasno i precizno određivati i opisivati vrste u svom punom smislu. Nakon što je Carl von Linné znanstveno opisao koncept vrste, obimna istraživanja su započela unutar ihtiologije te ujedno i doprinjela utemeljenju ihtiologije kao posebne znanosti. Brojni predjeli te brojne vodene površine su tada istražene s gledišta sastava njihove ihtiofaune. Tijekom 19. stoljeća, pa sve do početka 20. stoljeća, unutar ihtiologije posebna se pozornost posvetila taksonomiji, opisnoj biologiji te klasifikaciji. Kasnije je slijedilo razdoblje značajnog istraživanja riba sa gledišta fiziologije, ekologije i etologije, što je stvorilo sasvim nove poglede i vidike prema modernoj ihtiologiji. Danas su istraživanja uglavnom usmjerena prema primjenjenoj ihtiologiji, odnosno takozvanoj ribarstvenoj biologiji i akvakulturi. Sakupljanje ihtioloških podataka se nastavlja bez prekida, a određena neriješena pitanja se vraćaju s vremena na vrijeme. Mnoge znanstvene nedoumice vezane uz ribe još uvijek ostaju, u nekim segmentima, neodgovorene, uslijed čega današnji ihtiolozi i dalje nastavljaju istraživati ovu izuzetno raznoliku grupu kralješnjaka. Budući izazovi u ihtiologiji su svakako područja: a) taksonomije, b) evolucije i sistematike, c) populacijske biologije, d) ekologije, e) istraživanja raznih lokaliteta neistraženih po pitanju faune riba, f) rada na proširenju i usavršavanju međunarodnih kataloga riba, i g) istraživanja i analiziranja još uvijek neprepoznate znanstvene literature.
