Changes in method of animal classification and how methods of animal classification changed
the time
Answers
In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus published a system for classifying living things, which has been developed into the modern classification system. People have always given names to things that they see, including plants and animals, but Linnaeus was the first scientist to develop a hierarchal naming structure that conveyed information both about what the species was (its name) and also its closest relatives. The ability of the Linnean system to convey complex relationships to scientists throughout the world is why it has been so widely adopted.
Linnean classification system
In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus published a system for classifying living things, which has been developed into the modern classification system.
Despite existing for hundreds of years, the science of classification is far from dead. Classification of many species, old and new, continues to be hotly disputed as scientists find new information or interpret facts in new ways. Arguments are fierce and species do change names, but only after a wealth of information has been gathered to support such a big step. One of the new reasons why species are being re-evaluated is because of DNA analysis. Basic genetic analysis information can change our ideas of how closely two species are related and so their classification can change, but how does the whole system work?
Nature of science
Improved technologies have altered our understanding of the world. In astronomy, the invention of the telescope enabled astronomers to observe outer space and see what they hadn’t been able to see before, and biologists use the microscope to observe the unseen world. Now, DNA technology has allowed scientists to re-examine the relationships between organisms to refine the classification system.
Kingdom
When Linnaeus first described his system, he named only two kingdoms – animals and plants. Today, scientists think there are at least five kingdoms – animals, plants, fungi, protists (very simple organisms) and monera (bacteria). Some scientists now support the idea of a sixth kingdom – viruses – but this is being contested and argued around the world.
Phylum
Below the kingdom is the phylum (plural phyla). Within the animal kingdom, major phyla include chordata (animals with a backbone), arthropoda (includes insects) and mollusca (molluscs such as snails). Phyla have also been developed and reorganised since the original work by Linnaeus – as scientists discover more species, more categories and subcategories are put in place.
Class
Each phylum is then divided into classes. Classes within the chordata phylum include mammalia (mammals), reptilia (reptiles) and osteichthyes (fish), among others.
Order
The class will then be subdivided into an order. Within the class mammalia, examples of an order include cetacea (including whales and dolphins), carnivora (carnivores), primates (monkeys, apes and humans) and chiroptera (bats).
Family
From the order, the organism will be classified into a family. Within the order of primates, families include hominidae (great apes and humans), cercopithecidae (old world monkeys such as baboons) and hylobatidae (gibbons and lesser apes).