Taxonomy and Classification Notes
Taxonomy: the study of classifying (grouping) organisms into like categories
What





is the reason for classifying organisms?
Accurately & uniformly names organisms
Prevents misnomers such as starfish & jellyfish that aren't really fish
Shows evolutionary relationships
Uses same language (Latin) for all names
Prevents duplicated names because all names must be approved by
International Naming Congresses
How do we classify organisms into groups?
By making categories based upon similarities and differences in
 Structural (anatomy and physiology)
 Biochemical (enzymes, proteins, DNA)
7 Taxa or group levels
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genius
Species
most Inclusive
least Exclusive
most Exclusive
least Inclusive
Taxon (taxa-plural) is a category into which related organisms are placed. Ex:
Species
Each level or taxon groups together organisms that share more characteristics
than the level above
How do we name organisms?
 Carolus Linnaeus (1700’s) came up with a naming system called
Binomial Nomenclature
 Two name System for naming things using the taxa levels: Genus and
species
 Genus comes 1st and is Upper case , Species comes 2nd is lower case
 Names are written in Latin (dead universal language)
 Used by all countries to avoid confusion among scientists.
 Ex. Homo sapiens, Canus lupus, Felis domesticus
2 [Type text]
Major classification taxa levels:
6 kingdoms we classify all organisms into.
1. Archebacteria – oldest life form
2. Eubacteria - most living bacteria
3. Fungi – molds, yeasts, mushrooms
4. Plantae - plants
5. Animalia - animals
6. Protista – single celled organisms (eukaryotic)
Taxonomy and Classification Notes