TAXONOMY:
CLASSIFICATION OF
LIVING THINGS
Miss
Napolitano &
Mrs. Haas
CP Biology
CLASSIFICATION
You use classification techniques all the
time!
Miss Napolitano’s classification:
Employee
State employee
Robbinsville High School employee
 Teacher
 Science teacher
 Biology teacher
TAXONOMY
 Taxonomy: the science of classifying organisms
 Carolus Linnaeus – father of modern taxonomy
 Grouped organisms into taxa based on similarities
 Developed scientific names - common names
became too confusing!
 Binomial nomenclature: each species is assigned a twopart scientific name
WHAT IS THIS?
WHAT IS THIS?
You may have said:
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Mountain lion
Puma
Cougar
Panther
Or something else!
Scientific names (binomial
nomenclature) eliminates this
problem!
Simply, Felis concolor.
DO YOU KNOW THE FOLLOWING
SCIENTIFIC NAMES?
DO YOU KNOW THE FOLLOWING
SCIENTIFIC NAMES?
Felis catus
Homo sapien
Helianthus annuus
Canis familiaris
Spongiforma
squarepantsii
THE SEVEN LEVELS OF BIOLOGICAL
CLASSIFICATION
Domain is the most diverse,
species is the most specific
Species: organisms that can
interbreed with each other and
produce fertile offspring
Binomial nomenclature = genus
& species of an individual
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
HUMAN CLASSIFICATION
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Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
Shorthand: Homo sapiens (H. sapiens)
 Genus & species italicized or underlined
 ONLY genus capitalized
 If abbreviated, shorten genus to 1 st letter
VOCAB BEFORE WE PROCEED...
 Unicellular: made of 1 cell
 Multicellular: made of more than 1 cell
 Prokaryotic: cell does not have a nucleus
 Eukaryotic: cells have nuclei
 Autotrophic: makes own food (photosynthesis, etc.)
 Heterotrophic: consumes food
 Cell wall: rigid structure surrounding the cell membrane
THE 3 DOMAINS OF LIFE
 Bacteria: true bacteria
 Archaea: extreme bacteria
 Eukarya: eukaryotes
DOMAIN BACTERIA
Unicellular
Prokaryotic
Cell walls
Corresponds to kingdom
Eubacteria
Diverse!
DOMAIN ARCHAEA
Unicellular
Prokaryotic
Live in extreme environments
with no oxygen
 Volcanic hot springs, brine pools,
black organic mud
Cell walls
Corresponds to kingdom
Archaebacteria
DOMAIN EUKARYA
All eukaryotes
Organized into 4 kingdoms
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
DOMAIN EUKARYA: KINGDOM PROTISTA
 The super random group
 Can be unicellular or
multicellular
Plant-like: Euglena
 Some autotrophic, some
heterotrophic
 Categorized by plant-like,
animal-like, or fungus-like
Fungus-like: Slime mold
Animal-like: Amoeba
DOMAIN EUKARYA: KINGDOM FUNGI
Heterotrophic
Many feed on dead or
decaying matter
Most multicellular but
some unicellular
DOMAIN EUKARYA: KINGDOM PLANTAE
 Multicellular
 Autotrophic – photosynthesis
 Nonmotile – do not move from
place to place
 Cell walls
 Include cone-bearing plants,
flowering plants, mosses, & ferns
 **Algae are NOT plants – they’re
protists!
DOMAIN EUKARYA: KINGDOM ANIMALIA
Multicellular
Heterotrophic
No cell walls
Most can move
Very diverse &
complex!
COMPARING DOMAINS & KINGDOMS
Domain
Eukarya
Domain
Bacteria
Domain
Archaea
COMPARING DOMAINS & KINGDOMS
Domain
Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya
Kingdom
Eubacteria
Archaebacteria
Cell Type
Prokaryote
Prokaryote
Eukaryote
Eukaryote
Eukaryote
Eukaryote
Cell
Structures
Cell walls
Cell walls
Some have
cell walls,
some have
chloroplasts
Cell walls
Cell walls,
chloroplasts
No cell walls
or
chloroplasts
Number of
Cells
Unicellular
Unicellular
Some
unicellular,
some
multicellular
Most
multicellular,
some
unicellular
Multicellular
Multicellular
Autotrophic or
Heterotrophic
Both
Both
Both
Heterotrophic
Autotrophic
Heterotrophic
Examples
E. coli
Halophiles
Amoeba
Mushrooms,
yeasts
Mosses,
ferns,
flowering
plants
Sponges,
worms,
insects,
fishes,
mammals
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
DICHOTOMOUS KEY
Used to help identify an unknown specimen
Works by asking yes or no questions about
certain traits
Eventually leads the reader to the correct taxa
for the organism
DICHOTOMOUS KEY EXAMPLE
Traits
Direction
1a. Organism has 4 legs
Go to #2
1b. Organism has more than 4 legs
Go to #20
2a. Organism has a tail
Go to #3
2b. Organism has no tail
Go to #35
3a. Organism has stripes
Bengal Tiger
3b. Organism has no stripes
African Lion
TRY THIS!
Trait
Direction
1a. Organism walks on 4 legs
Go to #2
1b. Organism walks on 2 legs
Go to #8
2a. Organism has visible fur
Go to #3
2b. Organism has no visible fur
Go to #20
3a. Organism lives in warm climates
Go to #7
3b. Organism lives in cold climates
Go to #4
4a. Organism has black or brown fur
Ursus americanus
4b. Organism has white fur
Ursus maritimus