History of Systematics Flashcards
what was attributed to Aristotle
zoological systematics
How did Aristotle distinguish invertebrates
- entoma (insects)
- malacostra (crustacea)
- malakia (cephalopoda)
How did Aristotle distinguish vertebrates
- Reptiles
- Birds
- Mammals
- there exists a hierarchy of existing levels, from nonliving things to humankind, and then god.
- proposed by Aristotle
The Principle of the Ladder of Nature
Theophrastos’ Divisions in the Plant World
- Tree
- Shrub
- Under shrub
- Herbs
Theophrastos’ Genera Groups
Monocots
Dicots
a saying or philosophy meaning there’s no third option, only true or false.
Tertium non datur
a logical approach where you progress from general ideas to specific conclusions.
deductive reasoning
Key features of life according to Aristotle and Theophrastus
- Circulatory System - Animals
- Growth and Reproduction - Plants
they arranged genera alphabetically
- Otto Brunfels
- Leonart Fuchs
- Conrad Gesner
He was able to master floral morphology but it was not translated into classifications
Hieronymus Bock
He was the first to abandon the blind trust in ancient botany, which led to botany reaching full maturity.
Valerius Cordus
Plant parts chosen by Pierre Magnol:
Roots
Branches
Flowers
Seeds
He used purely morphological classification.
John Ray
- His aim is to provide a key.
- He placed an emphasis on names as indispensable requirements to be able to know the medical properties of plants.
Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656-1708)
a set of easily recognizable and visible characters.
key
Linnaeus’ Criteria for a Genus:
number
shape
size
proportion
Linnaeus’ 5 Ranks:
Class
Order
Genus
Species
Variety
- Introduced the time element in systematics.
- Formulated the idea of the phylogenetic relationship (termed genealogy).
- Formulated the biological species concept (species is a physical identity).
- Genera and higher categories are nominal features.
Comte de Buffon
nature is one and undivided with just one universal being.
idea of continuity (Michel Adanson)
knowledge that is independent of experience
a priori
knowledge gained from experience
a posteriori
They proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin
organisms produce more offspring that are able to survive, grow, and mature. Those who are not fit for their environment are not able to reach the age of maturity to reproduce. Those who are fit are able to survive until they reproduce.
Theory of evolution
