Science glossary film: Linnaean hierarchy

A hierarchical system for biological classification, created by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century. In descending order of category he put all living things into a kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Linnaeus classified species by their appearance, but we now tend to use evolutionary criteria. He also proposed the binomial naming system that is still used today, assigning Latin names to each species and genus, such as Homo sapiens.

In descending order of category he put all living things into a kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Linnaeus classified species by their appearance, but we now tend to use evolutionary criteria. He also proposed the binomial naming system that is still used today, assigning Latin names to each species and genus, such as Homo sapiens.