Abstract:
Systema Naturae is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomenclature, was partially developed by Gaspard and Johann Bauhin 200 years earlier, Linnaeus was the first to use it consistently throughout his book. The first edition was published in 1735. The full title of the 10th edition [1758], which was the most important one (lef t image below), was “Systema na turæ per regna tria na turæ, secundum cla sses, ordines, g enera, specie s, cum character ibus, diffe rentiis, synony mis, locis” or trans lated: “System of nat ure through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera and species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places”. The left illustration below shows the front page of the 10th edition, the right illustration, page 194, introducing the chapter on the class Amphibia. The first amphib-ian species described by Linnaeus in this 10th edition were Rana arborea (Hyla arborea), Rana boans (Boana boans), Rana ocellata (Osteopilus ocellatus), Rana paradoxa (Pseudis paradoxa), and Rana typhonia (Trachycephalus typhonius).Unfortunate ly, and for the de spair of many herpetol ogists, since t he publication of the Systema Naturae, the nomenclature has been subjected to many changes, sometimes irrational and un-necessary