John Fleming (1785-1857) was a minister of the Church of Scotland, but in his time at the University of Edinburgh he had also studied geology and zoology.
His intention in the book was to 'collect the truths of Zoology within a small compass, and to render them more intelligible, by a systematical arrangement'.
His subsequent works led to his being offered the chair of natural Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, and subsequently at the newly created chair of natural history at the Free Church College in Edinburgh.
John Fleming (1785-1857) was a minister of the Church of Scotland, but in his time at the University of Edinburgh he had also studied geology and zoology