Question

Which of the following is called the father of taxonomy?
A. Aristotle
B. Carolus Linnaeus
C. John Ray
D. Theophrastus

Answer 1

Hint: Amongst the diverse varieties of animals and plants on this planet, we need a certain management system to hold this knowledge compactly and neatly. The study of vast material has to be made easy by organizing the species into various categories and naming them. This could help to avoid unnecessary confusions.

Complete answer:
Classification is a grouping of organisms based on their characters. So the natural classification means grouping the natural organisms including plants and animals based on their similarities or shared features.
Taxonomy is a branch of science dealing with the classification and naming of organisms.
Option A: Aristotle: He developed the first system of classification in the animals. He used their physical appearances to group them. Then his classification of plants and animals had a problem as he placed different charactered species in the same group as he divided them based on their habitat.
Option B: Carolus Linnaeus: Carolus Linneaus is the father of the taxonomy. His system classifies and names the organisms. He gave the hierarchical system of classification which had various rankings. He considered all the specifications of the organisms at that time.
Option C: John Ray: He is well known for his contributions in the taxonomy as a botanist. He was the first to describe and use ‘Species’ as a subdivision.
Option D: Theophrastus: he is the father of Botany. He initially laid the foundation for studies of plants and plant products.

Hence the correct answer is OPTION(B)

Note: The natural classification of plants contributed to the evolutionary studies. The naming of plants and animals is called Nomenclature. Linneaus gave the binomial nomenclature system which had the two-word name for the plant/animal. This made the study much easier and compact.