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What was the Contribution of Linnaeus towards taxonomy?

What was the Contribution of Linnaeus towards taxonomy?
 

Grade:12

1 Answers

Arun
25750 Points
5 years ago

Taxonomy is the part of science that focuses on naming and classifying or grouping organisms. A Swedish naturalist named Carolus Linnaeus is considered the 'Father of Taxonomy' because, in the 1700s, he developed a way to name and organize species that we still use today. His two most important contributions to taxonomy were: 

  1. A hierarchical classification system 
  2. The system of binomial nomenclature (a 2-part naming method)
 

During his lifetime, Linnaeus collected around 40,000 specimens of plants, animals, and shells. He believed it was important to have a standard way of grouping and naming species. So in 1735, he published his first edition of Systema Naturae (The System of Nature), which was a small pamphlet explaining his new system of the classification of nature. 

He continued to publish more editions of Systema Naturae that included more named species. In total, Linnaeus named 4,400 animal species and 7,700 plant species using his binomial nomenclature system. The tenth edition of Systema Naturae was published in 1758 and is considered the most important edition. Its full title in English is System of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera and species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places

 
 

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