Classification System: The Importance Of Biological Classification

Biological classification is the scientific procedure of arrangement of living organism into groups. It is done on the basis of their similarities and dissimilarities and placing the groups in a hierarchy of categories.

The first pioneer work on biological classification was done by Linnaeus. He classified living organisms into the two kingdoms, i.e Plantae and Animalia. But this classification system proved to be inadequate as there were many organisms that did not fall into any of the categories. Afterwards, the classification system for living organisms has undergone several changes. However, the place of plant and animal kingdoms remains consistent under all different systems.

Systematics / Taxonomy

Systematics is the study of identification, nomenclature,

He wrote Historia Animalium (first book of Zoology)

Theophrastus (370-284) is known as the father of botany. He wrote Historia Plantarum. (first book of botany)

Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) has described 2000 plants and animals.

Kasper Bauhin (1561-1624) was the first to give two-word names to organisms.

John Ray (1627-1705) introduced the word species.

Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) is known as the father of taxonomy. He gave the scientific system of binomial nomenclature (Philosophia Botanica), described 5900 species of plants (Species Plantarum) and 4326 species of animals (Systema Naturae).

Lamarck introduced the terms phylogeny the concept of evolution of dynamic nature of species in his book Philosophie Zoologique

Ernst Haeckel (1866) established the concept of phylogeny or developmental history of a race.

First natural system of plant classification was given by Bentham and Hooker (Genera Plantarum, 1862-1883).

First phylogenetic system of plant classification was given by Engler and Prantl (1887-1899) in their work Die

Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien through its outline was proposed by Eichler