Classification of Living Organisms

Need for Classification

     More than a million species of living organisms have been discovered and described so far and a large number of them are yet to be discovered. Scientists involved in this task, called taxonomists, estimate that there may be around 30 million species of living organisms of which the known number of species forms a very small percentage.

History of Classification

     Classification of living organisms is probably as old as human civilization. Organisms have been grouped on different basis at different periods of time. The earliest classification was probably on the basis of utility to man. Plants and animals were classified on different basis such as edible and non-edible ones, useful and harmful ones and so on.

Carolus Linnaeus - The Father of Modern Taxonomy

     Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a Swedish biologist. He is considered as a pioneer in the field of taxonomy because of two significant contributions.

Summary

     Biologists estimate that there are about 30 million species of living organisms inhabiting this biosphere and only a million and half of it have been discovered and described so far.