Question

Who developed the concept of phylogeny?
A. Linnaeus
B. Lamarck
C. Ernst Haeckel
D. Hippocrates

Answer 1

Phylogeny is the study of relationships among different groups of organisms and their evolutionary development. It attempts to trace the evolutionary history of all life on the planet. It is based on the phylogenetic hypothesis that all living organisms share a common ancestry. The evolutionary changes, lineage and history are taken into account during this classification.

Complete Answer:
Let us analyse the options and find the correct answer.
Option A: Linnaeus is famously known as "Father of Binomial Nomenclature". He was the first to frame principles for defining natural genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them, known as binomial nomenclature, in his book named 'Systema Naturae'.
As he has not done work in the area of phylogeny or phylogenetic classification, therefore this option should be discarded and is incorrect.

Option B: Lamarck is known for his work on 'Inheritance of Acquired characteristics or soft inheritance'- also called Lamarckism and use/disuse theory. Lamarckism is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. As Lamarck's work was nowhere around Phylogeny, so we can eliminate this option as an incorrect one.

Option C: Ernst Haeckel, is best known for the famous statement "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". He also is credited to coin many terms commonly used, such as phylum, phylogeny, ontogeny and ecology. Therefore, this is the correct option.
The statement “ ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” means that every organism in its course of development undergoes all the stages of life forms from which it has evolved.

Option D: Hippocrates is famously known as "Father of Modern Medicine". He described many diseases and their treatment in a scientific manner, after detailed observation. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Hence the correct answer is option C.

Note: The application of phylogenetics is as follows,
- It helps in identification of DNA in criminal cases or in paternity tests.
- It helps in understanding how organisms evolved.
- It also provides knowledge and helps in strengthening the understanding about genomes, genes and species.