The definition of 'pre-historic' assumes that the period was before written records. Obviously easily satisfied for the fossil collectors.
Archaeology concerns itself with the early history of mankind (and other life forms) and attention is usually paid to settlement regions, middens and waste sites, early tool forms and so on. So a knowledge of the food species (botany and zoology) and some knowledge of tool working techniques. e.g. How did they make that ochre paint for the walls.
Recent work in the Pacific in studying the common root of (non-written) languages has helped identify the migration patterns throughout that region.
A scientist who studies animal life is a zoologist. There is no particular name for a scientist that specialises in platypuses.
bio- life logia- the study of biologist
oceanographer
The name of a scientist that studies sports is called a sports scientist.
They would be known as an Oceanographer.
An arachnologist
A virologist is a scientist who studies viruses.
A scientist who studies animals is called a zoologist.
A scientist who studies radioactivity is called a nuclear physicist or a radiologist.
The name for this type of scientist is a teuthologist
This answer is a entomologistA scientist who only studies fish is called an ichthyologist.
Astronomer