Carl Linnaeus, Father of Modern Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a Swedish doctor, botanist, and explorer who

extensively studied taxonomy, which is the study of the names and classifications of
living organisms. He made two major contributions to the subject, namely the
Linnaean Classification System and the binomial system of naming species. These
systems of Linnaean taxonomy continue to be used for classifications of newly
discovered species today.
A portrait of Carl Linnaeus

Life of Carl Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus, or Carolus Linneaus (both Latinized versions of his given name Carl
von Linné), was born on May 23rd, 1707, in Råshult, Sweden. Because his father was
an avid gardener, Linnaeus was exposed to botany (the study of plants) from a very
young age. Throughout his childhood, he was passionate about memorizing the Latin
names of different plant species.
He eventually pursued higher education in medicine, but during his studies, he also
began to write extensively and teach about the classification of plant species. He also
chose to go on research expeditions to study the natural resources of his country,
Sweden. Over time, his travels extended to different parts of Europe, which allowed
him to interact with other scientists and expand his knowledge of different species.
 In 1741, he became a professor of botany at Uppsala University in Sweden. He would
task his students with exploring different parts of the world and bringing back
samples of native plant and animal life for him to study. Linnaeus continued
publishing many scientific works, of which Systema Naturæ presented the first
taxonomic divisions of kingdoms of living organisms.
Kingdoms were further divided into:

 classes
 orders
 genera
 species

This system continues to serve as the foundation for the study of the names and
classifications of biological organisms, or taxonomy. His work also popularized the
binomial system of naming species of living organisms. For his immense scientific
contributions, Carl Linnaeus is known as the father of taxonomy. He died in the year
1778, leaving behind a wife and five children.
Fun fact: Despite his personal preference for botany, Carl Linnaeus also served as
personal physician to the Swedish royal family!

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Linnaean Classification System

The Carolus Linnaeus Classification System, called the Linnaean Classification
System, is divided into multiple levels known as taxon (pl. taxa). The taxon
definition refers to the hierarchical structure used for the naming and classification of
living beings. The taxon introduced by Linnaeus, from the highest to lowest hierarchy
level, were as follows:

 Kingdom
 Class
 Order
 Genus
 Species

This system is convenient because it makes the identification of species easier and
also provides information about organisms that a particular species is closely related
to. This is why this classification system continues to be used today (with a few
modifications and additions).
For example, here is how the Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) would be classified
using Linnaeus' classification system:

Taxa Name
Kingdo
Anamalia
m
Class Mammalia
Order Primates
Genus Gorilla
Specie
gorilla
s

Changes to the Linnaean System

While Linnaeus' system provides a backbone for modern taxonomy, various revisions
have been made to it over time. Of these, the most significant change was the addition
of the taxon domain, which falls above Kingdoms, at the top of the modern hierarchy
of classifications. While this is a relatively recent addition to the system, it has been
adopted by biologists and taxonomists worldwide.
The three domains of living organisms are:

 Bacteria
 Archaea
 Eukarya
 Apart from this, the number of living kingdoms was expanded beyond just Animalia
and Plantae to include newer kingdoms, e.g. Fungi and Protista. The mineral kingdom
was removed entirely, excluding all non-living things from this classification system.
Apart from domain, the classification hierarchy now includes many additional taxa,
such as phylum and family, as well as subcategories within taxa (e.g., sub-kingdoms
and infra-classes.) These new taxa help accommodate the scientific community's
increasing knowledge on how different species are related.
All these revisions to Linnaeus' system were necessary because of the continued
discovery of various new species of organisms, as well as further information
provided through the fields of genetics and microbiology, which had not been well
established until long after Linnaeus' death.
The taxonomic classification system used today contains the following taxa, from
broadest to narrowest:

Hierarchy level Taxa

1 Domain
2 Kingdom
3 Phylum
4 Class
5 Order
6 Family
7 Genus
8 Species

Linnaean Taxonomy
A major feature of Carl Linnaeus' system of classification was the use of binomial
nomenclature. Under this system, as the name suggests, the name of a species
consisted of two Latin words—its genus and its specific epithet, which is the specific
name assigned to the species. For example, humans belong to the genus Homo and
have the specific epithet sapiens, which is why mankind is called Homo sapiens.
While binomial nomenclature had been used by herbalists before Linnaeus, it was
through Linnaean taxonomy that it became standard practice in the classification and
identification of all living things.

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Carolus Linnaeus Word Scramble Activity

Direction

For this activity, study the scrambled letters and try to unscramble or rearrange the
letters to form a word or phrase that fits the given clues. To do this, you must right-
click and print this page. With a pencil and an eraser, neatly write your answers in the
blank space provided.

SCRAMBLED WORDS

1. MGDKOIN
2. YKEAAUR
3. RRCAEYHHI
4. LNESGI PEIESCS
5. NAGEER
6. EIFCIPSC PEITEHT
7. PATDZLECIIA
8. OHTURA
9. TMSSYAE ATARNUE
10. EODMNHIAI

CLUES

1. Phylum is a rank in the classification of organisms which is below _____ and above class.
2. _____ constitutes the domain of organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within
membranes.
3. Linnaeus classified organisms through a ranking system or _____.
4. Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming __________ by giving each a name
composed of two parts.
5. _____ is a rank in the classification of organisms which is below family and above species.
6. The second element in the Latin binomial name of a species that follows the generic name is
referred to as __________.
7. In using binomial names, the genus name is always written first and should be _____.
8. The originator or publisher of a binomial name for a species is often referred to as the _____.
9. __________ is one of the major works of Carolus Linnaeus and introduced the Linnaean
taxonomy.
10. Humans belong in the kingdom of Animalia and in the family of _____.
ANSWER KEY

1. KINGDOM
2. EUKARYA
3. HIERARCHY
4. SINGLE SPECIES
5. GENERA
6. SPECIFIC EPITHET
7. CAPITALIZED
8. AUTHOR
9. SYSTEMA NATURAE
10. HOMINIDAE

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