TAXONOMY OF CLASSIFICATION
CLASSIFICATION
• CLASSIFICATION IS THE PROCESS OF GROUPING THINGS BASED ON
THEIR SHARED TRAITS.
• BIOLOGISTS USE CLASSIFICATION TO ORGANIZE LIVING THINGS INTO
GROUPS, SO THAT THE ORGANISMS ARE EASIER TO STUDY.
• THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HOW LIVING THINGS ARE CLASSIFIED IS
CALLED TAXONOMY.
WHO IS CAROLUS LINNAEUS?
•A SWEDISH BOTANIST
•DEVELOPED A 7-LEVEL (TAXA)
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM BASED ON
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ORGANISMS
HOW DOES IT WORK?
• THERE ARE 6 BROAD KINGDOMS
• EVERY LIVING THING THAT WE KNOW OF FITS
INTO ONE OF THE SIX KINGDOMS
• EACH LEVEL GETS MORE SPECIFIC AS FEWER
ORGANISMS FIT INTO ANY ONE GROUP
BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE
• BI MEANS TWO
• NOMEN MEANS NAME
• A BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE IS A
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM USING TWO NAMES TO
IDENTIFY AN ORGANISM
SCIENTIFIC NAME
GENUS-SPECIES NAME GIVEN TO ALL ORGANISMS
• CANIS FAMILIARIS IS THE SCIENTIFIC NAME FOR A DOMESTIC
DOG.
• CANIS IS THE GENUS NAME
• FAMILIARIS IS THE SPECIES NAME
• THIS SYSTEM USES A BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE
GENUS…
• A GENUS CONSISTS OF A GROUP OF CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES
• OTHER ANIMALS IN THE CANIS GROUP INCLUDE WOLVES AND COYOTES
• THE GENUS NAME IS ALWAYS CAPITALIZED
SPECIES...
• A SPECIES CONSISTS OF ANIMALS THAT CAN MATE AND
PRODUCE FERTILE OFFSPRING
• ONLY DOMESTIC DOGS ARE KNOWN AS LUPUS.
• THE SPECIES NAME IS ALWAYS LOWERCASE
THE MOST BASIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IS BASED ON DOMAINS AND
KINGDOMS. ORGANISMS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO DOMAINS OR
KINGDOMS BASED ON THESE CHARACTERISTICS:
1. WHETHER THEY ARE UNICELLULAR OR MULTICELLULAR
2. WHETHER THEY ARE PROKARYOTIC OR EUKARYOTIC
3. WHETHER THEY HAVE A CELL WALL OR CELL MEMBRANE
4. WHETHER THEY HAVE MEMBRANE BOUND ORGANELLES
5. WHETHER THEY ARE AUTOTROPHIC OR HETEROTROPHIC
6. WHETHER THEY REPRODUCE SEXUALLY OR ASEXUALLY
7. HOW THEY TOLERATE HEAT, SALT, OR OTHER EXTREME CONDITIONS
BASIC CLASSIFICATION
DOMAINS:
• THERE ARE THREE DOMAINS OF
LIVING ORGANISMS BASED ON
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS:
• ARCHAEA (ALSO CALLED
ARCHAEBACTERIA)
• EUBACTERIA (ALSO CALLED
BACTERIA)
• EUKARYOTA (ALSO CALLED
EUKARYA)
Archaea
Eubacteria
Eukaryota
BASIC CLASSIFICATION
KINGDOMS:
THE DOMAINS CAN ALSO BE SPLIT INTO KINGDOMS WHICH FURTHER DIVIDE THE ORGANISMS BY
THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.
DOMAIN ARCHAEA
“ARCHAEA” MEANS “ANCIENT” BACTERIA.
ORGANISMS IN ARCHAEA ARE:
Aerial view of hot spring at Yellowstone
• UNICELLULAR
• PROKARYOTIC
• AUTOTROPHIC OR HETEROTROPHIC
• ORGANISMS THAT REPRODUCE ASEXUALLY
• BACTERIA THAT HAVE ADAPTED TO EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS.
• SOME CAN SURVIVE IN EXTREMELY HOT ENVIRONMENTS, LIKE AROUND
HOT SPRINGS AND GEYSERS. THEY ARE CALLED THERMOPHILES.
• SOME CAN SURVIVE IN EXTREMELY SALTY ENVIRONMENTS, LIKE THE GREAT
SALT LAKE IN UTAH. THEY ARE CALLED HALOPHILES.
THE DOMAIN ARCHAEA HAS ONE KINGDOM, ALSO CALLED ARCHAEA
This hot spring is flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone. The colors are caused by
different varieties of archaebacteria and other microscopic life forms. Scientists can
distinguish temperatures of water by the colors present.
DOMAIN EUBACTERIA
“EU” MEANS “TRUE” BACTERIA. THEY ARE:
• UNICELLULAR
• PROKARYOTIC
• AUTOTROPHIC OR HETEROTROPHIC
• ORGANISMS THAT REPRODUCE ASEXUALLY
• THE MOST ABUNDANT ORGANISMS ON EARTH. ONE BACTERIUM CAN GIVE RISE TO 10
MILLION IN 24 HOURS.
• FOUND IN ALMOST EVERY HABITAT ON EARTH.
THE DOMAIN EUBACTERIA HAS ONE KINGDOM,
ALSO CALLED EUBACTERIA.
Many are common
infectious agents.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF BACTERIA ON THE SKIN. BACTERIA CAN BE SHAPED LIKE A SPHERE (COCCI) LIKE THIS
PICTURE, LIKE A ROD, OR LIKE A SPIRAL. THE STRUCTURE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PICTURE IS A HAIR
FOLLICLE WITH A HAIR GROWING OUT OF IT.
DOMAIN EUKARYOTA (EUKARYA)
• EUKARYOTIC
• VERY DIVERSE
• UNICELLULAR OR MULTICELLULAR
• AUTOTROPHIC OR HETEROTROPHIC
• REPRODUCE SEXUALLY OR ASEXUALLY
• CAN BE SPLIT INTO 4 KINGDOMS• PROTISTA
• FUNGI
• PLANTAE
• ANIMALIA
THE 4 KINGDOMS IN EUKARYOTA
Protista
Plantae
Mostly unicellular and microscopic
Autotrophic or heterotrophic
Can be infectious agents
Multicellular green plants
Autotrophic through photosynthesis
Have a cell wall
Examples:
•Amoeba
•Algae
•Daphnia
•Plasmodium (causes malaria)
Examples:
•Mosses
•Ferns
•Trees
•Flowering Plants
Fungi
Animalia
Multicellular
Heterotrophic
Decomposers
Can be infectious agents
Multicellular Animals
Heterotrophic
No Cell Wall
Examples:
•Mushrooms
•Athlete’s foot
•Bread Mold
Examples:
•Insects
•Spiders
•Crabs
•Birds
•Humans
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FIVE-KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION
• STARTING FROM THE TIME OF ARISTOTLE FOLLOWED BY LINNAEUS, MOST
OF THE BIOLOGIST CLASSIFY LIVING ORGANISMS INTO TWO MAJOR
KINGDOMS- ANIMALIA AND PLANTAE.
• DURING THE EARLY 1960S, HOWEVER BIOLOGISTS STARTED TO REALIZE
THAT SOME ORGANISMS DO NOT FIT COMPLETELY FIT INTO EITHER THE
PLANT OR THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.
• IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THESE ORGANISMS, TAXONOMISTS
PROPOSED THE FIVE-KINGDOM SYSTEM
FIVE-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION
• KINGDOM MONERA (TRUE BACTERIA, BACTERIA-LIKE ORGANISMS, AND
BLUE GREEN ALGAE)
• KINGDOM PROTISTA (PROTOZOANS AND ALGAE)
• KINGDOM PLANTAE (PLANTS)
• KINGDOM ANIMALS (ANIMALS)
• KINGDOM FUNGI (FUNGI, MOLDS, YEASTS)
SIX-KINGDOM SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION
• IN LINE WITH THE THREE DOMAIN OF LIFE, THE SIX-KINGDOM SYSTEM
HAS BEEN ADOPTED TO REFLECT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BACTERIA
AND ARCHAEA.
• IN THIS SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION, KINGDOM MONERA IN THE FIVEKINGDOM SYSTEM WAS REPLACED AND DIVIDED INTO TWO DISTINCT
GROUPS, KINGDOM EUBACTERIA AND KINGDOM ARCHAEA.
KINGDOM EUBACTERIA
• MOST DIVERSE AND WIDESPREAD AMONG THE PROKARYOTES.
• SMALLER AND MICROSCOPIC IN SIZE
• SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS
• REPRODUCE ASEXUALLY VIA BINARY FISSION
• PLAY VARIOUS ROLE IN ECOSYSTEM AS PRODUCER, CONSUMER AND
DECOMPOSER.
KINGDOM ARCHAEA
• FIRST DISCOVERED IN 1983 WHEN SCIENTISTS TOOK SAMPLES FROM A
HOT VENT IN EARTH’S INTERIOR UNDER PACIFIC OCEAN.
• DUE TO THEIR ABILITY TO WITHSTAND THE HARSHEST ENVIRONMENTS,
THEY ARE ALSO CALLED AS EXTREMOPHILES.
ARCHAEANS CLASSIFICATION BASED ON HABITAT
THEY OCCUPY
• HALOPHILES = THRIVE IN EXTREMELY SALTY ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS
SALT LAKES, SEAWATER-EVAPORATING PONDS AND BRINE SOLUTIONS.
• METHANOGENS = ANAEROBIC ARCHAEANS THAT RELEASE METHANE.
THEY SURVIVE IN SWAMPS, HOT SPRINGS, SEWAGE, FRESHWATER
MARSHES, AS WELL AS INTESTINAL TRACTS OF HUMANS AND
RUMINANTS.
• THERMOPHILES = LIVE IN VERY HOT TEMPERATURE, USUALLY 100
DEGREES CELSIUS.
KINGDOM PROTISTA
• MOST PRIMITIVE BUT MOST DIVERSE AMONG UNICELLULAR EUKARYOTIC
ORGANISMS.
• HAVE A DISTINCT CELL NUCLEUS AND MEMBRANE-BOUND ORGANELLES,
WHICH ALLOW FOR COMPARTMENTALIZATION AND DEDICATION OF
SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE CELL FOR SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS.
• SERVE AS STEM GROUP FOR THE FUNGI, PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
• INCLUDES ALGAE, EUGLENOIDS, CILIATES, PROTOZOANS, AND
FLAGELLATES.
KINGDOM PLANTAE
• MULTICELLULAR EUKARYOTIC ORGANISM THAT ARE ALL AUTOTROPHIC.
• REFERRED TO AS PRODUCERS
• DIVIDED INTO TWO GENERAL GROUPS: VASCULAR PLANTS AND
NONVASCULAR PLANTS
• GYMNOSPERMS HAVE NAKED SEEDS WHEREIN OVULES AND SEEDS ARE
NOT PROTECTED BY A FLOWER OR FRUIT TISSUE.
• ANGIOSPERMS HAVE THEIR SEEDS ENCLOSED WITHIN THE PROTECTIVE
WALL OF OVARY.
KINGDOM FUNGI
• ORGANISMS WHOSE ANCESTORS EXISTED ON EARTH MORE THAN 900
MILLION YEARS AGO BASED ON FOSSIL RECORDS.
• INCLUDE MEMBERS FROM MUSHROOMS, YEASTS, MOLDS, MILDEWS,
RUSTS, BRACKET FUNGI, AND MANY MORE.
• MOST FUNGI ARE SAPROPHYTIC (ABSORBS FROM DEAD ORGANISMS)
AND PARASITIC ( ABSORB NUTRIENTS FROM LIVING THINGS).
KINGDOM ANIMALIA
• MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS WITHOUT CELL WALLS OR CHLOROPHYLL
AND ARE ALL HETEROTROPHIC.
• ANIMALS OCCUPY THE LEVEL OF CONSUMERS:
• HERBIVORES = PLANT-EATERS
• CARNIVORES = ANIMAL-EATERS
• OMNIVORES = PLANT AND ANIMAL EATERS
• DETRIVORES = DEAD-EATERS
• ANIMALS ARE CLASSIFIED AS:
• VERTEBRATES = ANIMALS WITH BACKBONE
• INVERTEBRATES = ANIMALS WITHOUT BACKBONE
KINGDOM
• KINGDOM IS A TAXONOMIC RANK THAT IS COMPOSED OF SMALLER
GROUPS CALLED PHYLA.
• KINGDOM IS THE HIGHEST TAXONOMIC RANK, OR THE MOST
GENERAL TAXON USED IN CLASSIFYING ORGANISMS.
• IN THE NEW THREE-DOMAIN SYSTEM INTRODUCED BY CARL WOESE IN
1990, THE DOMAIN IS THE MOST GENERAL TAXON, AND KINGDOM IS
ONLY NEXT.
PHYLA
• A TAXONOMIC RANK AT THE LEVEL BELOW KINGDOM AND
ABOVE CLASS IN BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION, ESPECIALLY OF
ANIMALS.
• A GROUP OF CLASSES WITH SIMILAR DISTINCTIVE
CHARACTERISTICS.
CLASSES
• A GROUP OR SET (OF THINGS OR ENTITIES) WITH COMMON
CHARACTERISTICS, ATTRIBUTES, QUALITIES OR TRAITS.
• A TAXONOMIC GROUP COMPRISED OF ORGANISMS THAT SHARE
A COMMON ATTRIBUTE. IT IS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO ONE OR MORE
ORDERS.
ORDER
• A TAXONOMIC RANK USED IN CLASSIFYING ORGANISMS, GENERALLY
BELOW THE CLASS, AND COMPRISED OF FAMILIES SHARING A SET OF
SIMILAR NATURE OR CHARACTER.
FAMILY
• A TAXONOMIC RANK IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANISMS
BETWEEN GENUS AND ORDER.
• A TAXONOMIC GROUP OF ONE OR MORE GENERA, ESPECIALLY SHARING A
COMMON ATTRIBUTE.
• A COLLECTION OF THINGS OR ENTITIES GROUPED BY THEIR COMMON
ATTRIBUTES, E.G. PROTEIN FAMILY, GENE FAMILY, ETC.
• A GROUP OF PEOPLE DESCENDED FROM A COMMON ANCESTOR; A KIN; A
TRIBE.
• A FAMILY IS MORE PRECISE THAN ORDERS BUT LESS PRECISE THAN GENERA.
ORGANISMS BELONGING TO THE SAME FAMILY WOULD HAVE EVOLVED FROM
THE SAME ANCESTORS AND SHARE RELATIVELY COMMON CHARACTERISTICS.
GENUS
• TAXONOMIC CATEGORY RANKING USED IN BIOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION THAT IS BELOW FAMILY AND ABOVE SPECIES.
• BIOLOGICAL GENUS IS DEFINED AS A TAXONOMIC RANK
COMPRISED OF SPECIES WITH COMMON ATTRIBUTES. IT INCLUDES
GROUP(S) OF SPECIES THAT ARE STRUCTURALLY SIMILAR OR
PHYLOGENETICALLY RELATED.
SPECIES
• THE LOWEST TAXONOMIC RANK, AND THE MOST BASIC UNIT OR
CATEGORY OF BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION.
• AN INDIVIDUAL BELONGING TO A GROUP OF ORGANISMS (OR
THE ENTIRE GROUP ITSELF) HAVING COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
AND (USUALLY) ARE CAPABLE OF MATING WITH ONE ANOTHER TO
PRODUCE FERTILE OFFSPRING.
BIODIVERSITY
• Refers to the variety of living species on earth, including plants,
animals, bacteria, and fungi. The earth’s magnificent biodiversity
at risk.
• Used to describe the enormous variety of life on earth. It can be
used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region
or ecosystem.
LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
The diversity in life-forms occur at the following levels:
• Genetic diversity
• Species diversity
• Ecosystem diversity
GENETIC DIVERSITY
• Refers to both the vast numbers of different species as well
as the diversity within a species.
• The greater the genetic diversity within a species, the greater
that species’ chances of long-term survival.
• This is because negative traits (such as inherited diseases)
become widespread within a population when that
population is left to reproduce only with its own members.
SPECIES DIVERSITY
• The number of species and abundance of each species that
live in a particular location. The number of species that live in
a certain location is called species richness.
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
• Deals with the variations in ecosystems within a geographical
location and its overall impact on human existence and the
environment.
• Ecological diversity is a type of biodiversity. It is the
variation in the ecosystems found in a region or the variation
in ecosystems over the whole planet.