CLASSIFICATION

SECTION 1
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC)
● Aristotle was not the first observer and classifier of nature, but he was the first to systematically
record a methodology for doing so.
● .The system he established was based on obvious and visible physical features.
● He classified things as either plants (which were green and did not move) or animals (which did
move.)
● He further classified animals by where they lived (land, sea, and air.)
● Aristotle further classified animals as ‘with blood’ and ‘without blood’. Animals with blood were
divided into live-bearing (humans and mammals), and egg-bearing (birds and fish). Invertebrates
(‘animals without blood’) are insects, crustacea, and mollusks. It was a simple system but he was
quick to admit it.
CAROLUS LINNAEUS (1707-1778)
● Carl Linnaeus is most famous for creating a system of naming plants and animals—a system we still
use today.
● This system is known as the binomial system, whereby each species of plant and animal is given a
genus name followed by a specific name (species), with both names being in Latin.
WHY DO WE NEED TO CLASSIFY ORGANISMS AND
GIVE THEM A SCIENTIFIC NAME?
Specific Epithet is usually referring to a characteristics of the organism.