•Classification
•Taxonomy
•Linnaeus
•Kingdom
•Phylum
•Class
•Order
•Family
•Genus
•Species
•Common name
•Scientific
name
•Binomial
nomenclature
•Dichotomous
Key
• Taxonomy is the science of grouping
and naming organisms.
• Classification the grouping of
information or objects based on
similarities.
•We only know about a fraction of the
organisms that exist or have existed on Earth.
•Taxonomists give a unique scientific name to
each species they know about whether it’s alive
today or extinct.
• The scientific name comes from one of two
“dead” languages – Latin or ancient Greek.
Why use a dead language?
Devil Cat
Ghost Cat
Mountain Lion
Screaming Cat
Puma
Florida Panther
Cougar
•How many common names do you
think we have for the animal
shown on the previous 7 slides??
50!!!
•Common names vary according to region.
•Soooo……why use a scientific name?
Binomial Nomenclature
•a two name system for writing scientific names.
•The genus name is written first (always Capitalized).
•The species name is written second (never capitalized).
•Both words are
italicized if typed or underlined if hand written.
Example: Felis concolor or F. concolor
Which is the genus? The species?
"Formal" scientific names should have a third
part, the authority.
The authority is not italicized or underlined.
The authority is written as an abbreviation of
the last name of the person responsible for
naming the organism. Since Carolus Linnaeus
was the first person to name many plants, the L.
for Linnaeus is very common in plant scientific
names.
An example is Quercus alba L.
The Dichotomous Key
• A key is a device for easily and quickly
identifying an unknown organism.
• The dichotomous key is the most widely used
type in biological sciences.
• The user is presented with a sequence of
choices between two statements, couplets,
based on characteristics of the organism. By
always making the correct choice, the name of
the organism will be revealed.
A. one pair of wings
1.
B. Two pairs of wings
The major classification levels,
from most general to most specific
(several of these have subdivisions)
A group at any level is a taxon.
Categories within Kingdoms
Kingdoms are divided into groups called phyla
Phyla are subdivided into classes
Classes are subdivided into orders
Orders are subdivided into families
Families are divided into genera (genus)
Genera contain closely related species
Species is unique
Your assignment
(if you choose to accept it…which is
required!!!)
-you need to get a yellow book and share! Chapter 1…..
1. Write the names of the kingdoms that we
know.
2. What does each kingdom contain?
3. Complete the chart on the next slide
(on your own paper)
Common
Name
Cats
Rabbits
Rat
Dogs
Hamster
Chinchilla
Ferret
Guinea Pig
Kingdom Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species