Classification/Taxonomy
Chapter 18
Taxonomy
classifying organisms and
assigning each organism a
universally accepted name.
Defined:
In other words, naming things.
Benefits
1.
2.
3.
Prevents duplicate names
Prevents misunderstandings
Uniformly names organisms
Why common names don’t work
Common names vary among languages.
Example:
United Kingdom – Buzzard refers to a hawk
United States – Buzzard refers to a vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Honey Buzzard
Turkey Vulture
Carolus Linnaeus

Classified organisms by their structure

Created the system of naming we use today.

His classification system includes 7 levels.
Binomial Nomenclature

“Bi” means 2

“nomial” means naming

Nomenclature means “the system of naming”
Defined:
In binomial nomenclature, each
species is assigned a two-part
scientific name.
Definitions to know
 Genus: is a group of closely related species
 Species: Group of similar organisms that can
breed and produce fertile offspring
Example of Binomial Nomenclature
 Polar Bear is Ursus maritimus

Ursus: genus
Ursus contains 5 other kinds of bears

maritimus: species
The Latin word, maritimus, refers to the sea.
Polar bears often live on pack ice that floats in the sea.







Kingdom: Largest taxonomic group,
consisting of closely related
phyla.
Phylum: Group of closely related
classes
Class: Group of similar orders
Order: Group of similar families
Family: Group of genera (genus) that
share many characteristics
Genus: Group of closely related species that
share common
Species: Group of organisms that can interbreed to
produce fertile offspring.
The level of classification that contains organisms most closely related
is species.
The level of classification that contains organisms least closely related
is kingdom.
Here We Go…
Polar Bear
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: maritimus
What do these mean?...lets see
How to remember:
King Phillip Came Over For Green Salad
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Carnivora
Family
Ursidae
Genus
Ursus
Species
arctos

Genus and species are used in the
organism’s name.

This system of using 2 names to identify an
organism is called binomial nomenclature.

The binomial name is also known as the
scientific name.