Classification
Classification
What is classification?
– Organising living things into groups:
• Anatomy
• Genetics
Horseshoe crab
Anatomically - looks like a crab
Genetically - more closely related
to spiders
Classification
Why classify organisms?
Blue whale - MAMMAL
Classification
Why classify organisms?
• Helps others understand which species you are talking
about
• Can group species based on shared characteristics
• To study phylogeny – how related species are
Emperor penguin - BIRD
Dusky dolphin - MAMMAL
Classification
• Linnaean classification
– Genus and species, e.g. Homo sapiens
Panthera leo
Panthera tigris
Classification
• Genus and species are the tip of the iceberg
• There are many different levels in the classification hierarchy
• Top level is the 5 Kingdoms:
–
–
–
–
–
Protists
Prokaryotes
Fungi
Plants
Animals
(e.g. amoebae, algae)
(e.g. bacteria, archaebacteria)
Classification
Kingdom Animalia
• ~ 1.26 million animal
species
• Vertebrates and
invertebrates
Monarch butterfly
INVERTEBRATE
• ~ 1.2 million are
invertebrates
(e.g. insects, crustaceans)
• ~ 60,000 are vertebrates
Great white shark
VERTEBRATE
Classification
INVERTEBRATES
• No spinal column (also called backbone)
• No internal skeleton
VERTEBRATES
• Have a spinal column
• Have an internal skeleton
Seven-spot ladybird
INVERTEBRATE
Vertebrates are divided into five groups:
• Fish
• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Birds
• Mammals
Purple frog
VERTEBRATE
The Vertebrates
Mammals
• Produce milk from
mammary glands to feed
young
• Maintain constant body
temperature (warmblooded)
• Covering of hair
• Give birth to live young
The Vertebrates
Birds
• Maintain a constant body
temperature (warm-blooded)
• Reproduce by laying eggs
• Have feathers
• Most can fly
• Have a beak
The Vertebrates
Reptiles
• Don’t regulate body
temperature (cold-blooded)
• Tough scaly skin
• Most lay eggs with leathery
shells
The Vertebrates
Amphibians
• Don’t regulate body temperature
(cold-blooded)
• Lay eggs in water
• Life cycle involves transformation
from aquatic larvae to terrestrial
adult
• Can respire through porous skin
The Vertebrates
Fish
• A collection of four distantly
related groups
• Breathe underwater using
internal gills for gas exchange
• Body covered with scales
• Most don’t regulate body
temperature (cold-blooded)
Vertebrates
Activity 1: Guess Zoo
• Get into groups of 6 - 8
• Take a species card - DO NOT LOOK AT IT!
• Hold the card on your head for the rest of your group to see
• Take turns to ask Yes or No Questions to work out which animal
you are
• Ask questions based on classification
– e.g. do I have cold blood?
Note: Asking if you are a mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish is
against the rules!
Invertebrates
Activity 2: Insect classification
Insects are probably the most successful of all invertebrates.
All insects have:
• An external skeleton
• A body split into three segments –
head, thorax and abdomen
• Six jointed legs, one pair on each
body segment
• Antennae
Invertebrates
Activity 2: Insect classification
Most insects have:
• 2 or 4 wings for all or part of their life
• Compound eyes
Invertebrates
Activity 2: Insect classification
1. Use a computer to research the following insect orders:
Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera,
Odonata
2. Using www.ARKive.org for inspiration, draw a typical
species of 1 or 2 of these groups on A3 paper
3. Label the diagram with the defining features of the insect
order it belongs to
Orthoptera -
Grasshoppers and
crickets
Stridulation – rubbing
wings/legs/abdomen
to create sound
Wings folded over abdomen
Large eyes
Ovipositor
Incomplete metamorphosis
Ears in legs or
abdomen
Discussion questions
• Why do we classify organisms?
• What are the defining characteristics of mammals?
• What are the defining characteristics of insects?