Allometry is the study of the relationship of body size to shape, anatomy, physiology and behaviour, first outlined by Otto Snell in 1892, by D'Arcy Thompson in 1917 in On Growth and Form and by Julian Huxley in 1932.
Skeleton of an elephant
Skeleton of a tiger quoll (Dasyurus maculatus). The proportionately thicker bones in the elephant are an example of allometric scaling
Allometric relations show as straight lines when plotted on double-logarithmic axes
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson
Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson CB FRS FRSE was a Scottish biologist, mathematician and classics scholar. He was a pioneer of mathematical and theoretical biology, travelled on expeditions to the Bering Strait and held the position of Professor of Natural History at University College, Dundee for 32 years, then at St Andrews for 31 years. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, was knighted, and received the Darwin Medal and the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal.
Thompson in 1886
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson at Trinity College, Cambridge, ca. 1883
Thompson was inspired by the work of Albrecht Dürer.
Thompson between 1895 and 1905