16 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
VOL. I 
Systematic Arrangement of Animals. 
Linnaeus’ classificatory arrangement of animals, unlike 
his plant system, was in part a natural one. 
In his primary division he followed Aristotle, although 
instead of separating animals, as did Aristotle, into those 
that had blood and those that had not, eVat/xta and 
avatfxa, he uses the terms Red Blood and White Blood 
as distingishing characters. 
His further classification as set forth in the Systema 
Naturce, is as follows : — 
Heart with 2 ventricles (viviparous 1. Mammals 
2 auricles : warm red-blooded (oviparous 2. Birds 
Heart with 1 ventricle and ;s 3. Amphibia 
Although the first four groups are natural ones, the 
characters used to distinguish them do not entirely hold 
good. Thus some animals have no heart, and the Amphibia 
(as Linneeus understood them, ne., including the Reptilia) 
have hearts possessing not one auricle, but two. 
It will be noticed that in his system no regard is paid 
to the skeleton, and we accordingly miss what is implied 
in the terms Vertebrata and Invertehrata, of more modern 
systematists. 
With regard again to Linnaeus’ last division six, 
worms, or “ Vermes,” reference to any recent work on 
zoology will show that our knowledge of the subject has so 
advanced in ever^T- way since his time (thus might even be 
said of the age of Cuvier) tliat it has undergone a complete 
revolution, and given place to a new and far vaster structure. 
The late Prosessor W. H. Blower, in a paper read 
before the British Association for the Advancement of 
Science, in 1878, the centenary anniversar}^ of Linnaeus’ 
death, in reviewing Linnaeus’ treatment of the Mammalia 
in developing further his classification in the 1st volume of 
the 1766 edition of the Systema Natures, states, however, 
with regard to his treatment, - of this, his first division of 
animals, that the advance in knowledge since Linnaeus’ 
time has on the other hand only extended and reformed 
that discovered in the work of this great investigator. 
One point, in dwelling on the difficulites in this work, 
under which Linnaeus laboured, . he specially mentioned : 
“I must remark in passing, (said Flower) upon what is 
the greatest, and indeed most marvellous difference between 
the .zoology of our time and that of Linnaeus. Now we 
know tliat the animals at present existing upon the earth 
are merely the survivors of an immensity of others, different 
1 Auricle cold red-blooded 
Heart with 1 Ventricle 
no auricle, cold white-bloo 
with gills 4. Fishes 
with antennae 5. Insects 
with tentacles 6. Worms 
cold white-blooded 
