What is Symbolic Taxonomy?

Taxonomy

We have Swedish botanist Carolus Linneaus (1707-1778) (see Figure 1)  to thank for the system we use today to identify each life form. According to this “taxonomy” created by Linnaeus, each living thing is classified according to various characteristics, moving from the most general, shared characteristics, to the most specific, individual  characteristics seen in just one type of living thing. This taxonomic hierarchy has seven levels of classification: kingdom, phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, and species. Linnaeus also introduced “binomial nomenclature,” which labels each individual lifeform with its genus and species. For example, humans belong to the Genus Homo and the species sapiens.

“Symbolic Taxonomy”

The Phaistos Disc

I refer to a series of my relief prints as “symbolic taxonomy.” They combine art with science and have a nod to history. My inspiration came from the famous Phaistos Disc (see Figure 2, photo by Gleb Simonov, 2024, Wikimedia Commons). As described by Eisenberg (2008), this clay disc is decorated with a series of hieroglyphic-like symbols and was reportedly unearthed in 1908 by Italian archeologist Luigi Pernier on the Island of Crete. For over a century, scholars have attempted to decipher the disc. Some thought it was poetry, others thought it was a sacred inscription, hymn, diary, calendar, proof of a geometric theorem, a curse, musical notes for a stringed instrument, or even a board game (Eisenberg, 2008). Eisenberg argues that these efforts are useless. His theory is that the disc was a forgery, offering various evidence related to the manufacturing methodology. 

The disc is permanently encased and on display in the Heraklion Archeological Museum in Crete. As it was reportedly found alongside other items which were dated to 1700/1650 BC,  the museum and other scholars believe this to be the approximate age of the disc, as well (Archeological Museum of Messara, n.d.). Eigenberg’s and others’ efforts to have a thermoluminescence test conducted on the disc to determine its date of origin have been unsuccessful.  The museum believes it is authentic. The meaning of the symbols, however, remains a mystery.

Deciphering the Symbolic Taxonomy Prints

Unlike the Phaistos Disc, my prints are decipherable! Each print represents one animal, plant, or fungus species commonly found in Pennsylvania.

Each taxonomy circle is composed of seven rings. The rings represent the taxonomic hierarchy, moving from outer to inner ring: kingdom, phylum/division, class, order, family, genus, and species (see Figure 3). Moving toward the center ring reflects increasing similarity among life forms, as they share the characteristics of the prior taxonomy levels.

For example, humans belong to the Animalia kingdom, which is comprised of over 400,000 different species (US Fish & Wildlife, 2026), all of which obtain their food from external sources and are capable of movement. Moving further through the taxonomy hierarchy, humans belong to the Primates order, which has 591 different species all of which have overlapping visual fields and opposable thumbs (US Fish & Wildlife). With extinction of the 14 other species who had belonged to the genus Homo, e.g., Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), modern humans are the only remaining member of the Homo genus,  and, by definition, the only species named Homo sapiens. 

Given the shared categorization of some species depicted in the prints,  some prints will have the same symbols on the outer circles. They will  become differentiated as we move through the different levels toward the unique center symbol reflecting the species. I created the symbols in each ring to represent the characteristics used to classify species into that category. 

Ring #1 - Kingdom 

How food is obtained is a defining characteristic of species within each Kingdom. Animalia and Fungi both depend upon their environments for food, so they have an external food source. These Kingdoms are differentiated from each other by whether or not they are capable of movement. Animalia can move independently; Fungi are stationary, although they may release spores which can travel to a new location. Species in the Plantae Kingdom produce their own food through photosynthesis. Although some species may “creep” across the ground or up a tree, they are rooted in one place and not considered to be capable of independent movement.

Ring #2 - Phylum/Division

The anatomy or structure of the species, including during prenatal development for the chordata, is a primary characteristic used to classify organisms into a particular phylum (for Animalia) or division (for Plantae and Fungi). 

Ring #3 CLASS

Visible characteristics often define the different classes of species. It is easy to quickly determine, for example, that a fungus likely belongs to the  Agricomycetes class of fungi if it has the stereotypical mushroom shape.

Ring #4 ORDER

Most of the Order characteristics are related to anatomy or behavior. Although an observer could not know through observation how visual stimuli are mapped in the brains of Primates, science (and human experience) has demonstrated that having two eyes facing forward results in overlapping visual fields,  as opposed to the independent visual fields which result when the eyes are on either side of the head, as in a rabbit. So, we see that humans and rabbits part ways in the taxonomic hierarchy at this point. Rabbits used to be classified as members of the Rodentia order. At  the start of the 20th century, however, rabbits were moved into a new Order called “Lagomorpha.” They were determined to be different than rodents in their diets. Rodents eat just about anything. Rabbits are solely herbivores (with the exception of the rabbit in Monty Python’s Holy Grail).

Ring #5 FAMILY

Characteristics which differentiate species into Families are becoming more specific, often reflecting appearance. For example, several species depicted in the symbolic prints are in the Lepidoptera Order (butterflies and moths). They now are further differentiated by their appearance when classifying them into Families. Some have eyespots, so they are put into the Saturniidae Family. Others have stout wing spurs and twisted tails, so they are in the separate Papilionideae Family.

Ring #6 GENUS

As species are further differentiated into their Genus, behaviors, appearance, and habitat often are considered. The chosen Genus name more clearly reflects these characteristics, such as Trillium, which refers to the wildflower which has triple sets of three petals and sepals.

Ring #7 SPECIES

Linneaus selected the individual species’ names based on identifying characteristics. These may arise from anatomy, method of reproduction, physical appearance, habitat, and behavior. Species may be named regarding these characteristics or to honor specific people or to identify the location where the species first was identified. The Eastern cottontail rabbit, for example, is floridanus, because it first was discovered and labeled as a species in the wooded areas of Florida by Joel Asaph Allan in 1890.

These taxonomical hierarchies continue to be used today as world exploration continues. New species’ names might be humorous, such as the Spongiforma squarepantsii, the moniker given to a rainforest fungus found in Borneo (Desjardin et al., 2011). Similarly, scientists in Pennsylvania (Nastasi et al., 2021) identified and named 22 new species of gall wasp, making interesting associations in their choices of names, such as for the new species Ceroptres dandoi:

Named for Edward Dando, a famed food thief in 19th century Britain who is credited with consuming massive quantities of oysters and refusing to pay for them, declaring that he “refuse[d] to starve in a land of plenty”. We find this name to be especially apt for this species, as we reared C. dandoi from galls of Neuroterus tantalus which superficially resemble the shells of some mollusks, evidently Dando’s favorite food (Nastasi et al., 2021, p. 20).

References

Desjardin, D. E., et al. (2011). Spongiforma squarepantsii, a new species of gasteroid bolete from Borneo. Mycologia, 103(5), 1119–1123.

Eisenberg, J. M. (2008). The Phaistos Disk: A one-hundred-year-old hoax? Minerva, July/August,  9-24.

“Explore the Taxonomic Tree.” US Fish & Wildlife. https://www.fws.gov/taxonomic-tree/5007.

Nastasi, L. F., et al. (2022). One must imagine Sisyphus happy: Integrative taxonomic characterization of 22 new Ceroptres species (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini). Zootaxa, 5508 (1), 1-63.

“The Phaistos Disk.” Archeological Museum of Messara. https://messaramuseum.gr/site/dynamic-mouseio.shtml?type=page&id=348&lang=en.