Question

The first scientist to combine all the available knowledge about plant and animal classification was
A. John Ray
B. Aristotle
C. Darwin
D. Linnaeus

Answer 1

Hint: On earth there are a huge variety of plants, animals and other organisms with different forms and structures. Hence to make their study easier, many scientists divided them into two different classifications. Carl Linnaeus was the first to use systems word in his book “Systema Naturae”.

Complete answer: Linnaeus was the first scientist who classified organisms into two kingdoms: Plantae and Animalia. The criteria for classification used by him included cell wall, locomotion, mode of nutrition, response to external stimuli and contractile vacuole. So, Linnaeus was the first scientist to combine all contemporary knowledge about plant and animal classification. The Linnaean system of classification consists of a hierarchy of groupings, called taxa. Taxa range from the kingdom to the species. The kingdom is the largest and most inclusive grouping. It consists of organisms that share just a few basic similarities.
i. John Ray: He was an English naturalist. He worked on zoology, botany and natural theology. He was the first person who gave the definition of biological classification.
ii. Aristotle: He was the first scientist who attempted classification based on simple morphological characters to classify plants into herbs, shrubs and trees. He classified animals into Anaima (animals without RBCs) and Enaima (animals having RBCs), on the basis of absence and presence of RBCs respectively. Aristotle is known as the founder of taxonomy.
iii. Charles Darwin: Darwin is also known as the father of genetics due to his work in evolution theory. He gave the theory of natural selection.
Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Note: Carl Linnaeus is also known as the father of modern taxonomy. He published his theory on classification and nomenclature of plants and animals in the book Systema Naturae. The two-kingdom classification given by Linnaeus does not distinguish between unicellular and multicellular, eukaryotes and prokaryotes.