Initial information on the presence of rotifers in Poland dates back to the late 18th century when, in 1775, these animals were observed and described by Eichhorn, a Lutheran church minister from Gdańsk. A few rotifer species were mentioned briefly by the Rev.K.Kluk in his 1795 book “Zwierząt domowych i dzikich osobliwie krajowych, historyi naturalney początki i gospodarstwo” [“A primer on natural history and management of domesticated and wild animals, particularly those of this country”]. However, the credit for the beginnings of a more in-depth research on the taxonomy and ecology of rotifers is due to Antoni Wierzejski (1843–1916), a professor of the Jagiellonian University.

Wierzejski's most important work is the monograph “Wrotki Galicji” [“The Rotifers of Galicia”] (Wierzejski 1893). The monograph contains a long list of species; some of them are annotated with detailed descriptions of morphology and anatomy and with information on reproduction modes.Wierzejski also provided methodological guidelines with respect to collection and processing of research materials. In addition, he demonstrated the ubiquity of rotifers and described numerous new species, e.g., Atrochus tentaculatus, Brachionus forficula, Synchaeta stylata, Polyarthra euryptera, Collotheca (Floscularia) atrochoides and Trichocerca similis as well as the genus Bipalpus and the species Trichocerca capucina, both described jointly with Zacharias.

Somewhat later, the area of the former Galicia became the focus of activity of Antoni Jakubski (1885–1962), a professor of universities in Lvov and Poznań, known for his interesting and diverse research. His major study concerned primarily planktonic rotifers in the environs of Sokal where he identified 257 taxa (Jakubski 1914/15). His other publications contain data on moss-dwelling rotifers (Jakubski 1918) and also on those living in the tropics (Jakubski 1912).

Jerzy Wiszniewski (1908–1944) was, doubtless, the most prolific researcher of the Polish rotifer fauna. During his short life he managed to publish 24 scientific papers (5 were left as manuscripts), 4 popular-science articles, 4 short communications, and 3 essays. His doctoral dissertation, written under the supervision of Professor Janicki, dealt with rotifers inhabiting the environs of Warsaw. In a fragment of the dissertation, published in 1929, Wiszniewski described one rotifer genus and two species new to science. In 1930 Wiszniewski was working as an assistant at the Hydrobiological Station on Lake Wigry.