Question

The term ‘phylum’ in animal classification was coined by
(a) E. Haeckel
(b) John Ray
(c) G.L Cuvier
(d) Carolus Linnaeus

Answer 1

Hint: He was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, and artist, He discovered, described, and named thousands of latest species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including ecology, phylogeny, and Protista.

Complete answer:
Ernst Haeckel in 1866, coined the term 'phylum' for the classification of animals. The phylum is the category below the kingdom and above class, which is formed from various classes sharing common features. Haeckel noted that species constantly evolved into new species that appeared to retain few consistent features among themselves and thus few features that distinguished them as a group ("a self-contained unity"). However, perhaps such a true and completely self- contained unity is the aggregate of all species which have gradually evolved from one and the same common original form, as, for instance, all vertebrates.

Additional Information:
- John Ray established the category of 'species'. - C. G.L. Cuvier was the proponent of catastrophism in geology within the early 19th century. - Carolus Linnaeus gave binomial nomenclature.
So, the correct answer is ‘E. Haeckel’.

Note: Traditionally, in botany, the term division has been used rather than phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants accepts the terms as equivalent. The animal kingdom (Animalia) contains approximately 35 phyla. The plant kingdom (Plantae) contains about 14. The fungus kingdom (Fungi) contains around 8 phyla.