is a method by which biologists group
and categorize species of organisms
Biological classification is a
form of scientific taxonomy
I. How classification began
A.) Organizing items can help you:
a.) understand them better
b.) find them
ex.) CD or DVD collection,
Sneakers and
clothing in your closet
B.) Biologists want a better
understanding of organisms to organize
them.
TOOLS SCIENTIST
CLASSIFICATION
TAXONOMY
USE TO
ORGANIZE
Grouping of
objects or
information based
on similarities
Taxo = arrange
Nomy = ordered
knowledge
The National Science Foundation’s
“Tree of Life” project estimates that there
could be anywhere from 5 million to 100
million species on the planet,
but science has only identified about 2
million.
Think about an elephant. Develop a mental image of
it. How would you describe it to someone who has never
seen one? Take a moment to consider carefully . . .
Not surprisingly, biologists also classify organisms into different
categories mostly by judging degrees of apparent similarity and
difference that they can see. The assumption is that the greater
the degree of physical similarity, the closer the biological
relationship.
Modern biological classification is based
on the work of Carolus Linnaeus, who
grouped species according to
shared physical characteristics
Similarities in structure
Similarities in chemical and
genetic makeup (similar
proteins, similar DNA)
Similarities in the stages of
development of embryos
7 Levels of Classification
Linnaeus’s system of classification
http://www.bionetintl.org/opencms/opencms/caseStudies/default.jsp
http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/Six_Kingdoms/Index.htm
Classification
• Linnaeus system contains levels.
• It’s a hierarchical system meaning they
arraigned from largest or the most general
to the smallest or most specific.
Using Linnaeus's Idea of a
hierarchical system
• Arrange these categories from the largest and
most general to smallest and most specific:
– United states
– New York State
– North America
– Nassau County
– 230 Poppy Ave.
– Franklin Square
– Planet Earth
Answer:
Planet Earth
North America
United states
New York State
Nassau County
Franklin Square
230 Poppy Ave.
The
7
levels
of
Classification
• Kingdom
=
King
•
•
•
•
•
•
Phylum
=
Phillip
Class
=
Came
Order
=
Over
Family
=
From
Genus
=
Germany
Species
=
Skipping
Each of these levels is called a taxa.
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Largest groups
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Smallest groups and
Genus
most closely related
to each other
Species
Kings
Play
Chess
On
Fine
Green
Stools
King
Philip
Came
Over
From
Germany
Skipping
Naming organisms
Before Linnaeus developed his naming system, plants and animals
were named by a series of Latin words that described the physical
appearance of the organism. This was very confusing. For example,
let’s look at the first name of the honey bee.
Apis pubescens, thorace
subgriseo, abdomine fusco,
pedibus posticis glabris utrinque
margine ciliatus.
This means “fuzzy bee, light gray
middle, brown body, smooth hind
legs that have a small bag edged with
tiny hairs.” Linnaeus named it Apis
mellifera which means “honeybearing bee.”
Binomial nomenclature
is the formal system of naming specific species
each species name is in Latin and has two parts
Homo sapiens
Binomial nomenclature
continued…
Two-word naming system
genus specific epithet
Group of
similar
species
Describes
characteristic of
species
Examples
Genus specific epithet
Homo sapiens = humans
* Homo means “Same” homology
* Sapiens means “wise”
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Order
Family
Mammal
Primate
Homoide
Genus
Homo
Species
sapiens
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Animalia
Cordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
Lupus (the wolf)
Canis lupus
Procyon lotor
Drosophila melanogaster
http://www.curioustaxonomy.net/pu
ns/puns.html
Kingdom
• Is the largest and most abundant catergory
• There are five (5) kingdoms :
1. Plantae (Plants)
2. Animalia (Animals)
3. Fungi
4. Protista (Protists)
5. Monera
Phylum
• Includes many different organisms that
share important characteristics
• Division of a Kingdom
Class
• Division of phylum
Order
• Division of a Class
Family
• Division of a order
Genus: division of a family
Species:
Most specific and is a division of genus
These organisms can interbreed (reproduce)
Summary
• 1. Which is th e
Do you recall:
• When Linnaeus developed his system of
classification, there were only two
kingdoms, Plants and Animals.
• But the use of the microscope led to the
discovery of new organisms and the
identification of differences in cells. A twokingdom system was no longer useful.
Today the system of classification
includes Five kingdoms.
• Five Kingdoms:
–
–
–
–
–
Plants
Animals
Protists
Fungi
Monera
How are organism placed into
their kingdoms?
• Cell type, complex or simple
(prokaryotic or eukaryotic)
• Their ability to make food
(nutrition)
• The number of cells in their body
(multi cellular of unicellular)
Plant Kingdom
• Examples : flowering plant mosses, and
ferns.
• Cell Type: Eukaryotes
• They are Producers so they make their own
food (Autotrophic nutrition)
• They are all multicellular
More about Plant kingdom
• over 250,000 species
• Is the second largest kingdom
• Plant species range from the tiny green
mosses to giant trees
Without plants, life on Earth would
not exist!
• Plants feed almost all the heterotrophs
(organisms that eat other organisms) on
Earth. WOW!
Animal Kingdom
• Contain : is the largest kingdom with
over 1 million known species.
• Cell Type: Eukaryotes
• They rely on other organisms for their
food (heterotrophs )
• They are all multicellular
More about Animal kingdom
• Members of the animal
kingdom are found in
the most diverse
environments in the
world.
Protista Kingdom
• Contain : Slime molds and algae
• Cell Type: Eukaryotes
• Some rely on other organisms for their
food (heterotrophs) and some make their
own food (autotrophs)
• Most are unicellular and multicellular
More about Protists
• Sometimes called the odds and ends kingdom
because its members are so different from one
another. Approx 250,000 species
• include all microscopic organisms that are not
bacteria, not animals, not plants and not fungi.
Fungi Kingdom
• Contain : Mushrooms, mold and mildew
• Cell Type: Eukaryotes
• fungi cannot make their own food, most get
it from decaying soil. (heterotrophs)
• They are all multicellular
More about Fungi
• Some fungi taste great and
others can kill you!
• Only about 200,000 species of fungi have
been described of the estimated 1-1.5
million species
Monera Kingdom
• Contain : True bacteria and blue-green
algae.
• Cell Type: Prokaryotic
• Heterotrophs and Autotrophs
• They are all Unicellular
More about Monera
• 10,000 species
• grow practically everywhere, including your mouth
and digestive tract, the root nodules of legumes and
the sun-baked boulders of arid deserts