Taxonomy Notes
Taxonomy – the science of classifying organisms
Why do we need a system to classify and name organisms?
Here are some common names:
spider monkey
sea monkey
sea horse
gray wolf
firefly
crayfish
mud puppy
horned toad
ringworm
black bear
jellyfish
These names can vary by region and can also be misleading. Is a sea horse really a horse?
Naming Organisms:
Organisms have common & scientific name -all organisms have only 1 scientific name
-usually Latin or Greek
-developed by Carolus Linnaeus
This two-word naming system is called
Binomial Nomenclature
-written in italics (or underlined)
-1st word is Capitalized –Genus
-2nd word is lowercase —species
Examples: Felis concolor, Ursus arctos, Homo sapiens, Panthera leo, Panthera tigris. These can also be abbreviated as
(P. tigris or P. leo)
Linnaeus also devised the system we use to organize animals. This system uses large groups divided into subgroups (like
the way you organize folders on your computer)
Kingdom – Phylum — Class — Order — Family — Genus — Species
Human
Lion
Tiger
Pintail Duck
Animalia
Animalia
Animalia
Animalia
Phylum/Division Chordata
Chordata
Chordata
Chordata
Kingdom
Class
Mammalia Mammalia Mammalia Aves
Order
Primate
Family
Carnivora
Carnivora
Anseriformes
Homindae Felidae
Felidae
Anatidae
Genus
Homo
Panthera
Panthera
Anas
Species
sapiens
leo
tigris
acuta
Each organism has a group and subgroups. The organisms with the most similar groups will be most closely
related. Note that both the lion and the tiger are in the same genus, but are considered to be separate
species.
There are currently 6 kingdoms – organisms are placed into the kingdoms based on the number and type of
cells they have, and their nutritional needs.
number
of Cells
energy
cell
type
examples
Archaebacteria
unicellular
some
autotrophic, most chemotrophic
prokaryote
“extremophiles”
Eubacteria
unicellular
autotrophic
and heterotrophic
prokaryote
bacteria,
E. coli
fungae
most
multicellular
heterotrophic
eukaryote
mushrooms,
yeast
Plantae
multicellular
autotrophic
eukaryote
trees,
grass
Animalia
multicellular
heterotrophic
eukaryote
humans,
insects, worms
Protista
most
unicellular
heterotrophic
or autotrophic
eukaryote
ameba,
paramecium, algae