Classification is the categorizing of organisms into categories based on evolutionary and structural relationships. Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist during the 18th century classified plants and animals according to similarities and also form and structure. The purpose of this was to organize organisms into categories that could be named, remembered, and discussed. Carolus Linnaeus organized organisms from general to specific. The System of Classification is as follows: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. The kingdom is the broadest and the species is very specific. The scientist first believed that organisms were fixed and consistent, but he later realized that two organisms could make a new species. In addition, he also provided a system of scientific naming. The genus and the specific name. This is called the Binomial System. Latin was mainly used in this system because most scientists could understand Latin. Carolus Linnaeus first classified animals and plants.
Carolus Linnaeus in Laponian costume; replica of a...
Birth place of Linnaeus at Råshult
Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775. Oil paint...As time went on the number of kingdoms grew and now there are five. Although Aristotle was the first scientist to begin classification, the system that we use today to classify living things was introduced to us by Carolus Linnaeus.
Phyla: Arthropoda
Arthropodes, assigned to the phyla Arthropoda are the most successful phylum in terms of diversity. Animals that are found in these phyla are crabs, lobsters, spiders, and insects. These animals are able to live in the air, on land, and in water. There are five main groups of arthropods. First, the horse shoe crab. Second, crustaceans. Third, centipedes. Fourth, millipedes. Lastly, insects. Their bodies are bilaterally symmetrical. Bodies are divided into sections. The head, thorax, and the abdomen. The bodies are covered with tough layers of chitin or protein called an exoskeleton. The exoskeleton protects the animals and provides attachment to muscle cells. A disadvantage of...