CLASSIFICATION
Finding Order
in Diversity
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
DEFINE TAXONOMY
Is the study of
classification
TURKEY
VULTURE
(Cathartes
aura)
WHY CLASSIFY?
•How do biologists use taxonomy
to study the diversity of life ?
to name organisms and group
them in a logical manner.
Kingdom
Phylum
Order
Class
Family
Genus
Species
WHY CLASSIFY?
2. How do taxonomists group
organisms when they classify
them?
Into groups that have
biological significance.
Kingdom
Phylum
Order
Class
Family
Genus
Species
WHY CLASSIFY?
3. How does classification make
life easier?
grouping things makes them
easier to find and work with
3a. What are some things we
classify?
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
C. ASSIGNING
SCIENTIFIC NAMES
1. Many organisms may
have several different
common names.
1a.The cougar is also
known as the mountain
lion, catamount, or
puma …thus the need
Felis
for a scientific name.
concolor
Photo courtesy Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department ©
2004
Who was the first
person to classify living
organisms?
C
Species
Aristotle grouped animals
according to where they
lived (air, land, water)
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
ASSIGNING SCIENTIFIC NAMES
2. A Swedish botanist named
Carolus Linnaeus developed
Binomial Nomenclature, a twoword naming system
for naming all species
on earth based on
physical traits .
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
ASSIGNING SCIENTIFIC NAMES
2a. The first part of the
scientific name is the
genus.
This word is always
written first and
capitalized.
It appears in italics or is
underlined.
Grizzly bear picture is reproduced with permission from WWF. © 2004 WWF- World
Wide Fund For Nature (Formerly World Wildlife Fund). All Rights Reserved.
www.panda.org.
Homo sapien
Ursus arctos
horribilis
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
ASSIGNING SCIENTIFIC NAMES
2b. The second part of
the scientific name is
the species name.
This word is always
written second and is
not capitalized.
It appears in italics or is
underlined.
Homo sapien
Ursus arctos
horribilis
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
LINNAEUS’S SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
1. Linnaeus’ hierarchical system of
classification includes seven
levels called taxa.
They are, from largest to smallest,
Kingdom, Phylum, Class,
Order, Family, Genus,
Species.
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
LINNAEUS’S SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,
Family, Genus, Species.
More specific
Place the taxa in
the correct level
of the pyramid.
More general
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
THINKING CRITICALLY
Organism
Cat
Wolf
Fly
Kingdom
Animalia
Animalia
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Chordata
Arthropoda
Class
Mammalia
Mammalia
Insecta
Order
Carnivora
Carnivora
Diptera
Family
Felidae
Canidae
Muscidae
Genus
Felis
Canis
Musca
F. domesticus
C. lupus
M. domestica
Species
ANIMALS
CLASSIFICATION
ANIMALS
CLASSIFICATION
ACCORDING TO:
THEIR STRUCTURE
THE FOOD THEY
EAT
THEIR
REDROPUCTION
• INVERTEBRATE
(arthropods, mollusks, wo
rms, echinoderms, sponge
s)
• VERTEBRATE
 MAMMALS
BIRDS
FISH
REPTILES
AMPHIBIANS
• CARNIVOROUS
• VIVIPAROUS
•HERBIVOROUS
• OVIPAROUS
•OMNIVOROUS
ANIMALS
CLASSIFICATION
ACCORDING TO:
CARNIVOROUS
They eat animals
THE FOOD THEY
EAT
HERBIVOROUS
They eat plants and
fruits
OMNIVOROUS
They eat both
animals and plants
ANIMALS
CLASSIFICATION
ACCORDING TO:
HOW THEY ARE
BORN
VIVIPAROUS
They are born from mum’s
stomach. They grow inside
their mother until they are
born.
OVIPAROUS
They are born from eggs.
They lay eggs and the babies
then grow inside the eggs
until they are ready to come
out.
ANIMALS
CLASSIFICATION
ACCORDING TO:
INVERTEBRATE
They haven’t got a backbone.
There are lots of animals on
Earth (over 90%).
THEIR STRUCTURE
VERTEBRATE
They have got a backbone.
There are few animals on
Earth (less than 10%).
INVERTEBRATES
ARTHROPODS
Animals without backbones.
WORMS
MOLLUSKS
• Arachnids
• Crustaceans
•Insects
•…
SPONGES
ECHINODERMS
VERTEBRATES
MAMMALS
 They nurse their babies with
milk.
 They have got body hair.
 They are warm blooded.
 They are viviparous.
 They breath through lungs.
 They have got a skeleton
with a backbone and a skull
(cranium).
Animals with backbones.
They drink milk from
their mothers until they
are old enough to eat
other food.
Humans are also
mammals.
VERTEBRATES
Animals with backbones.
AMPHIBIANS
BIRDS
•They are oviparous.
•They lay eggs.
•They generally lay 1 to 17 eggs
at a time.
They are oviparous.
•They lay eggs.
They lay thousands and sometimes millions of
small, soft eggs, and they lay them in the water!
•The eggs are jelly-like.
•They have got wet skin.
REPTILES
•They are generally
oviparous, but there are some
viviparous reptiles.
•They have got scales and dry skin.
•They usually lay eggs and the
babies then grow inside the egg
until they are ready to come out.
•Sometimes reptiles will give
birth like mammals, without
eggs.
Amphibian means "double life"... the early part of an
amphibian's life is spent in the water, and usually as they
get older then they also spend time on land.
•Think of a tadpole turning into a frog! The process
amphibians go through is called "metamorphosis".
VERTEBRATES
Animals with backbones.
FISH
They are generally oviparous. They are
small. They lay many many eggs sometimes millions of tiny eggs! They are also
laid in the water.
There are some sea animals which are
viviparous or mammals like
whales, dolphins, seals, walruses, polar
bears,… They are big.