The Key Laboratory, taking aves, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, fish, invertebrates and insects as major taxa, is dedicated to the identifications, classifications, catalogue, morphology, evolution, phylogenetics, biogeography and etc. of the animal species diversity.

"Solving the key problems in the field of zoological systematics and evolution" is among its main goals. The lab has been mainly engaged in the work of investigating and tracing species diversity, reconstructuring the phylogenetic relationships of species and higher categories, discussing the effect of important functions and characters differentiation on the animal diversity evolution, studying the evolutionary mechanisms of speciation, co-evolution and ecological adaptability, analyzing the distribution patterns and formation mechanism of biodiversity, and probing into the effects of global environmental changes on the species evolution. Staff members make use of many means such as mining resource informations of collected specimens, integrating techniques of field investigations and experimental studies and that of macroscopic and microscopic biology. Likewise, the lab is also doing both basic and applied researches on the subjects that are highly related to the national strategic needs, including basic biology, pre-warning and quarantine technology about agricultural and forest pest species, and the conservation and sustainable utilization of animal resources.

Research Fields:
1. Species Diversity and Molecular Systematics
2. Morphological and Functional Evolution and Phylogeny
3. Diversity Patterns and Species Evolution Mechanisms
4. Phylogenomics
5. Important Scientific Questions Raised by National Development.