People need plants and animals. They are useful as food and medication, as well as for oxygen production and companionship. People want to understand and classify things, so classify them, put them in boxes. The classification of plants and animals may be as old as humanity itself. Aristotle developed the first known system in which species are logically classified. Now Linnaeus’ classification is used in conjunction with Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Aristotle
More than 2000 years ago, Aristotle created a classification system. In this classification system appearance and operation were central. He dissected animals to find out how they worked and how they worked. His classification system covered both plants and animals, with the most complex organism (man) at the top and the less developed species at the bottom.
The classification was based on:
- Appearance: the size of plants, among other things, was central to the layout
- Usefulness: every organism has its use, in the view of Aristotle. Plants with a medical use are therefore classified differently as edible crops.
- Operation: Aristotle is far ahead of his time in this. He tried to figure out how animals and plants function, to classify them in this way
And then??
After the time of Aristotle, the logical division of plants fell into disrepair. People did have names for plants, but these were not logically constructed. Each plant had a different name in each language, but often also in each dialect. It even happened that a plant had a different name in different villages. Communication about plants between different people therefore posed problems. Some plants still have different names, these are remnants of the old names.
Plants and animals are classified by species. However, the concept of species is not completely clear, different people have a different concept of species. Even within science there is no consensus on the concept of species. Typically, a definition is used in which organisms of the same species can reproduce together to produce fertile offspring. A gull and a rabbit are therefore never the same species, after all they cannot reproduce. A horse and a donkey are also not of the same species, they can reproduce but their offspring, a mule or a mule, is barren.
Dogs and wolves can reproduce together, sometimes producing fertile offspring. These can therefore be regarded as one species, although this usually does not happen. This is the same with domestic cats and (wild) servals. Crossbreeds can generate fertile offspring, but they are often not counted as belonging to the same species.
The concept of species is therefore far from clear. Nevertheless, the choice is made to classify according to types of animals. Uncertainties rarely arise and there is simply no better method available. If the classification would take place in a different way, this would be done either by individual, which will never work for logistical reasons, or by genera or family. The same problems can arise here and it would make the classification more complicated and less transparent.
John Ray
The English scientist John Ray developed his own classification system in 1693. This system, based on Aristotle, was more extensive and more reflective of reality. This was made possible by the invention of the microscope. Small plants and parts of plants could be viewed and examined in detail. John Ray was the first to distinguish monocots from dicots, a distinction that continues to this day.
Many scientists adopted John Ray’s system and gave plants names according to this system. Because of this, many plants still had different names, even different scientific names. This was the basis of much confusion in the communication between scientists. A system was needed in which each plant was given one name. That came.
Linnaeus
In the eighteenth century, the plant scientist Carolus Linnaeus developed a new ordering system. A new, logical classification of species was introduced. This system is still in use.
In the Linnaeus classification system, each species is given a name consisting of two names, a binary name. The genus name is written with a capital letter, the species name is not. Both names are in italics. This system was adopted by scientists in all countries. This eliminates misunderstandings about species, even when people communicate in different languages.
Linnaeus’ system is completely divided according to external characteristics. This has the advantage that it is easy to classify a species, after all, you just have to look. The disadvantage is that a family tree cannot be made directly from the classification. In the meantime, this existing system is constantly being adapted so that it corresponds to the evolution.
At the moment, species are classified according to the name given by Linnaeus. Here the name consists of the name of the genus and the name of the species. The first name is with a capital letter, the second name is with a lowercase letter. The name giver is sometimes indicated behind the name.
The dog is called, for example Canis familiaris, the domestic cat is the Felis catus
Darwin
In 1859 there was a shock through the natural sciences world. The famous book ?? the origin of species ?? from Charles Darwin appeared. After a long discussion, the theory of evolution was adopted by science. The old ecclesiastical ideas of the creation by God were no longer guiding science. Family trees could be made, which showed which animal and which plant descended from other plants and animals. Species no longer only looked alike, they were also related.
Besides the two names that together form the species name, plants and animals are classified even further. Long before the time of Linnaeus, it was clear to humans that the dog has more in common with the cat than with a pigeon. In addition, the dog and cat have more in common with the pigeon than with a tulip. That is why all types are grouped again according to agreements. Originally this went to external similarities, nowadays much more attention is paid to descent. Below an overview of 4 different types and theirs taxonomic classification
Dog | Cat | Turtledove | Forest tulip | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rich | Animalia | Animalia | Animalia | Plantae |
tribe | Chordata | Chordata | Chordata | Embryophyta |
Class | Mammalia | Mammalia | Aves | Spermatopsida |
Order | Carnivore | Carnivore | Columbiformes | Liliales |
Family | Canidae | Felidae | Columbiformes | Liliaceae |
Sex | Canis | Felis | Streptopelia | Tulipa |
Kind | familiaris | catus | turtur | sylvestris |
The theory of evolution was only slowly applied in the classification system. Even now the process is still ongoing. Plants and animals are classified and reclassified on the basis of DNA analyzes. The species are still named according to the binary system that Linnaeus introduced.