Taxonomy
The Science of Organizing and Classifying Life
Taxonomy – the science of grouping and naming things.
The modern system of classification was developed by Carl Linnaeus in the
1700’s.
Carl Linnaeus
Born in Sweden in 1707
Developed a system of classifying living organisms into large generalized groups
and dividing each group into smaller and smaller specialized groups
Linnaeus grouped organisms according to their physical similarities.
Linnaeus believed so much in his system, he changed his name to Carolus
linnaeus.
Taxonomic Categories
All living things are grouped in categories progressing from large general groups
to smaller and smaller specific groups:
7 Taxonomic Categories:
Kingdom
(most generalized group)
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
(most specific group)
Binomial Nomenclature
(Writing Scientific Names)
Each organism is given a 2-word name consisting of its genus and species
names.
The genus name is ALWAYS written first and is capitalized
The species name is ALWAYS last and is lower-case
Both names are either underlined or italicized.
For example: dog = Canis familiaris or Canis familiaris
For example: lion = Panthera leo or Panthera leo
The 6 Kingdom System
Each living organism is classified into one of 6 kingdoms:
Archaebacteria
Eubacteria
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Anamalia
Kingdom Archaebacteria
Believed to be some of the first living things on the early earth.
All prokaryotes
Live in extreme environments:
Hot thermal springs
Extremely acid environments
Extremely salty environments
Oxygen free environments
Kingdom Eubacteria
All prokaryotes
Eubacteria are ubiquitous. (I.e. they can be found almost everywhere!)
Some cause disease, but most are harmless.
Kingdom Protista
Eukaryotic
Mostly single-celled organisms
Most require moist envoronments
Divided into “animal-like”, “plant-like”, and “fungus-like” groups.
Kingdom Fungi
Mostly multicellular eukaryotes
Obtain nutrients and energy by decomposition (Therefore they are heterotrophic)
Have a cell wall made of chitin
Reproduce by producing “spores”
Kingdom Plantae
• All are multicellular photoautotrophs
• Classified as simple or complex based on the presence or absence of vascular
tissue (xylem & phloem)
• Vascular plants are also classified according to wether or not they produce
flowers.
Kingdom Animalia
Animals
All are Multicellular.
All are heterotrophs.
Cells of animals are organized into tissues. Tissues are organized into organs.
Organs are organized into organ systems.