Curated category
Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
- ChickenArchaeologists uncovered chicken bones at Ban Non Wat in central Thailand dating back 3,250 years. These skeletal remains sit alongside rice grains that wild…
- LionFossils from the Middle Pleistocene era reveal a creature larger than today's lion. Paleontologists excavated bone fragments in caves across the United…
- CattleAround 10,500 years ago, wild aurochs began their transformation into the cattle we know today. This process started in central Anatolia and the Levant near…
- SheepArchaeological evidence places the domestication of sheep between 11,000 and 9000 BC in Mesopotamia. This region served as a primary center for turning wild…
- HorseThe earliest known member of the horse family lived between 45 and 55 million years ago during the Eocene period. This creature was named Hyracotherium and…
- Red deerThe red deer (Cervus elaphus) appeared in Europe by the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene around 800,000 years ago. These earliest forms belonged to the…
- GoatArchaeological excavations at Ganj Dareh in Iran have uncovered goat remains dating back 10,000 years. These bones represent the earliest known evidence of…
- European badgerCarl Linnaeus named the European badger Ursus meles in 1758 within his work Systema Naturae. The species likely evolved from the Chinese Meles thorali during…
- Great white sharkThe great white shark first unambiguously appears in the fossil record about 5.3 million years ago at the beginning of the Pliocene epoch.
- TigerCarl Linnaeus described the tiger in 1758 within his work Systema Naturae. He assigned it the scientific name Felis tigris at that time.
- WeaselIn 1999, scientists moved the American mink and extinct sea mink from the genus Mustela to a new group called Neovison. This decision followed a taxonomic…
- WolfIn 1758, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus published Systema Naturae and listed the wolf as Canis lupus. He classified the domestic dog as a separate…
- MallardCarl Linnaeus described the mallard in 1758 within the tenth edition of Systema Naturae. He assigned two binomial names to the species, Anas platyrhynchos…
- Brown bearCarl Linnaeus scientifically described the species under the name Ursus arctos in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae. Brown bear taxonomy and subspecies…
- Common quailThe Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus formally described the common quail in 1758. He placed it under the binomial name Tetrao coturnix within his Systema…
- Eurasian eagle-owlA female Eurasian eagle-owl can reach a total length of 67 centimeters with a wingspan stretching to 180 centimeters. These dimensions place the species…
- HaddockCarolus Linnaeus first described the haddock as Gadus aeglefinus in 1758 within his Systema naturae. Theodore Nicholas Gill later established the genus…
- PrimateScientists trace the primate lineage back to a boundary between geological periods. The Cretaceous, Paleogene event occurred approximately 65 million years…
- CamelThe earliest known camel, called Protylopus, lived in North America 40 to 50 million years ago during the Eocene. It was about the size of a rabbit and…
- DogIn 14,223 years ago, a dog was buried alongside a man and a woman in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany. All three bodies had been sprayed with red hematite powder and…
- American bisonBison first appeared in Asia during the Early Pleistocene, around 2.6 million years ago. They arrived in North America between 195,000 and 135,000 years ago…
- Capra (genus)Mitochondrial DNA studies from 2022 reveal complex relationships within the genus Capra. The Asian ibex and Nubian ibex stand as distinct species despite…
- CougarThe word cougar comes from the Portuguese term çuçuarana, which itself traces back to the Tupi language of Brazil. In 1648, Willem Piso published a rendering…
- DonkeyThe oldest fossil of the genus Equus dates to approximately 3.5 million years ago and was discovered in the US state of Idaho.
- Golden eagleCarl Linnaeus first described the golden eagle in 1758 within his landmark Systema Naturae. He placed this bird into the genus Falco alongside many other…
- HippopotamusFifty-five million years ago, a common ancestor split from other even-toed ungulates. This lineage eventually gave rise to both whales and hippos.
- MammalThe first synapsids emerged during the Pennsylvanian subperiod, roughly 323 million to 300 million years ago. These creatures split from the reptile lineage…
- BirdIn the late 19th century, a slab of limestone from Germany revealed a fossil that changed how scientists viewed life on Earth.
- European turtle doveCarl Linnaeus described the European turtle dove in 1758 within his Systema Naturae. He placed this bird into the genus Columba alongside all other pigeons…
- Beluga (sturgeon)The Russian word beluga means white, a name applied to this fish because of the extensive pale color on its flanks and belly.
- HumanIn 2015, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide. This number represents a tiny fraction of the global population…
- Scarabaeus sacerCarl Linnaeus described Scarabaeus sacer in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae published in 1758. This publication serves as the starting point for all…