Taxonomic Hierarchy

THE HIERARCHY

Every organism is put into a taxonomic rank based on their species. First introduced by Carl Linnaeus, the taxonomic Hierarchy consists of 9 Ranks : Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. These classes were made in order to establish order within a species. But why does all this matter? Let's break it down, shall we?

 

Who Created This Ranking?

Carl Linnaeus first introduced this idea of ranking organisms into different classes in the 1700's. He has been credited as the father of Taxonomy and his system is widely used to this day. While many modifications have been made to this ranking since the time it was first introduced, the foundation that Linnaeus laid down remains constant. 

Carl Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Professor, Scientist, and Doctor in the 17th century. The father of Taxonomy, Linnaeus paved a path for many scientists and students to follow years and years later. One of his most noticeable achievements is naming the human species and including them amongst animals, 

• "He decided man was an animal like any other, and put Homo sapiens in the animal kingdom, alongside other animals. This paved the way for Darwin's theory of evolution a century later." ( The Linnaean Society, 2023)

He also contributed to other aspects of Biology such as his research of plant hybridization which then influenced Gregor Mendel and his pea plants. Carl was quite the trend setter. 

 

 

Why Is This Order Important?

Biology is a subject that puzzles the mind of many. Questions like, How did we get here?, What was before this?, Was there a before? get asked frequently and are constantly trying to be answered. That is why whenever you can have a set list that remains mostly the same is a blessing that will hopefully never be in a disguise. The Linnaeus ranking has helped scientists answer evolutionary questions and identify new and old species of organisms.

  "…Linnaean taxonomy has enabled biologists to group related species into genealogical trees, which represent the evolutionary lineage of modern organisms from common ancestors" (Paterlini 2007) 

My Stance

I believe that Carl Linnaeus has created a source that will be used in some way for the rest of time. Future scientists may spin off of these original idea but there is only one original. Linnaeus has influenced many different scientists that have contributed even more to the world of science. 

  His writings have been studied by every generation of naturalists, including Erasmus Darwin and Charles Darwin. The search for a "natural system" of classification is still going on -- except that what systematists try to discover and use as the basis of classification is now the evolutionary relationships of taxa. (Berkeley, 2020)

Without these discoveries, Science wouldn't be as far ahead as it is today. The order that we sort organisms and newly discovered species are based on this taxonomic ranking, without it, there would be no order in the court that we call life. 

References

Paterlini, M. (2007, September). There shall be order. the legacy of Linnaeus in the age of molecular biology. EMBO reports. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1973966/

His career and legacy. The Linnaean Society. (n.d.-a). https://www.linnean.org/learning/who-was-linnaeus/career-and-legacy

Carl Linnaeus. (n.d.). https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html