The Ecology Book

83

An octopus blends in with its

surroundings. The ability of these

creatures to change color was one of

Aristotle’s many accurate observations.

See also: The microbiological environment 84–85 ■ A system for identifying all nature’s organisms 86–87 ■ Biological

species concept 88–89 ■ Microbiology 102–103 ■ Animal behavior 116–117 ■ I sla nd biogeog raphy 14 4 –149

ORDERING THE NATURAL WORLD

While Aristotle’s system of

classification was rudimentary, it

was based largely on first-hand

observations, many of which were

made on the island of Lesvos. He

recorded things that noone else

had described, including that

young dogfish grew inside their

mothers’ bodies, male river catfish

guard eggs, and octopuses

can change color. Most of his

observations were good—and some

were confirmed only centuries later.

The great chain of being

Despite its limitations, Aristotle’s

method of classification heavily

influenced every later attempt at

grouping animals and plants until

the 18th century. Medieval

Christianity developed his scala

naturae as a “great chain of being,”

with God at the top of a strict

hierarchy, humans and animals

beneath, and plants at the bottom.

The Swiss doctor Conrad Gessner

wrote the first modern register of

animals—also called History of

Animals—in the mid-16th century.

This monumental five-volume work

was based on classical sources but

included newly discovered species

from East Asia. It covered the main

animal groups as Gessner saw

them: live-bearing quadrupeds

(mammals); egg-laying quadrupeds

(reptiles and amphibians); birds;

fish and aquatic animals; and

snakes and scorpions. In 1682,

the English naturalist John Ray

produced the equivalent register

for botany with his History of

Plants. Within little more than

50 years, the classification of

living things would be completely

transformed by Carl Linnaeus’s

Systema Naturae. ■

Aristotle Aristotle was born in Macedonia,

ancient Greece. Both his parents

died when he was young, and he

was raised by a guardian. Aged

17 or 18, Aristotle joined Plato’s

Academy in Athens, where he

studied for 20 years, writing on

physics, biology, zoology, politics,

economics, government, poetry,

and music. Later, he traveled

to the island of Lesvos with a

student named Theophrastus

to study the island’s botany and

zoology. Much of his History

of Animals was based on

observations he made there.

Aristotle taught both the future

scholar Ptolemy and King

Alexander the Great. In 335 bce,

he established his own school

at the Lyceum in Athens. After

Alexander’s death in 322 bce,

Aristotle fled the city, and died

on the island of Euboea in the

same year.

Key works

4th century bce

History of Animals

On the Parts of Animals

On the Generation of Animals

On the Movement of Animals

On the Progression of Animals

US_082-083_Classification_of_Living_Things.indd 83 12/11/18 6:24 PM