Ichthyology his pupils continued his ichthyological research. Theophrastus, for example, composed a treatise on amphibious fish. The Romans, although less devoted to science, wrote extensively about fish. Pliny the Elder, a notable Roman naturalist, compiled the ichthyological works of indigenous Greeks, including verifiable and ambiguous peculiarities such as the sawfish and mermaid respectively. Pliny's documentation was the last significant contribution to ichthyology until the European Renaissance. The writings of three sixteenth century scholars, Hippolito Salviani, Pierre Belon, and Guillaume Rondelet, signify the conception of modern ichthyology. The investigations of these individuals were based upon actual research in comparison to ancient recitations.
Nature study students, who were influenced by this philosophy, went on to provide the nature study knowledge in public schools. It was Agassiz who coined the phrase, "Study nature, not books." Nature study can be described as "conceiving of the movement as a loose coalition of communities composed of individuals, societies, and institutions able to find some common ground in the study and appreciation of the natural world". In "Leaflet I: What Is Nature-Study?" from a 1904 collection nature study lessons, Liberty Hyde Bailey presented the following description of nature study: NATURE-STUDY, as a process, is seeing the things that one looks