Why are some of Carl Linnaeus’s classifications of organisms incorrect?

Why are some of Carl Linnaeus’s classifications of organisms incorrect?

A. Linnaeus did not study the anatomy of organisms.

B. Linnaeus’ work accounted for evolution.

C. Linnaeus did not use structural comparisons.

D. Linnaeus primarily used physical characteristics.

Answer: D. Linnaeus primarily used physical characteristics.

Though modern taxonomy was initiated by Carl Linnaeus, he was an 18th-century Swedish botanist. In his system of classification, he was able to make the right classifications but since it was unique at the time it had weaknesses that resulted in some wrong classifications. Hence, Linnaeus mainly grouped organisms based on easily observable phenotypic differences, which led to some misclassification. For example, he grouped whales as fish because they lived in water and resembled fish though they possessed some mammalian characteristics. Likewise, he categorised bats with birds because they can fly ignoring the fact that they are mammals. Although this approach was more systematic, it did not consider such things as the evolutionary links or genetic affiliates as they are today very important in classification. Contemporary methods of classification use genetic data, biochemical differences, and an evolutionary tree, which offer a more accurate understanding of the existing organism’s connections. For example, hippos were found to be related to whales as opposed to other land animals by genetic scientists, a relationship that would not have been traced by observing the physical features of the animals. It is imperative to note that Linnaeus’s system was not perfect but it paved the way for the modern taxonomic classification and his binomial classification is being used up to today. Nevertheless, it should be noted that Schröder has some shortcomings in his classification method, demonstrating that more factors should be taken into account to unravel the actual interrelations between organisms.