Classification
TAXONOMY

Branch of biology that names &
groups organisms according to their
characteristics and evolutionary history
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
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Made the first recorded attempt at
classification over 2000 years ago.
Grouped all living things into two
categories:
– Animals
– Plants
What are some problems with this system?
LINNAEUS
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Developed a system to fix the
problems with Aristotle’s method
To classify organisms, their
PHYLOGENY, or evolutionary history,
should be considered.
7 levels of classification
Phylogenetic Tree

 Linnaeus's
seven levels of classification
are—from largest—smallest
• kingdom
• phylum
• class
• order
• family
• genus
• species
– Each level is called a taxon, or taxonomic
category.
The
kingdom is the largest and most
inclusive of Linnaeus's taxonomic categories.
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Giant
panda
Red
fox
Abert
squirrel
Coral
snake
Sea
star

phylum - the subsets of kingdom.
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Giant
panda
Red
fox
Abert
squirrel
Coral
snake

class, the subsets of phylum.
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Giant
panda
Red
fox
Abert
squirrel
An
order is a broad category composed of
the subsets of class.
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Giant
panda
Red
fox

family, the subsets of order.
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Giant
panda


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Species and genus are the two smallest
categories.
Genus is each subset within a family
Species is each subset within a genus
Grizzly
bear
Black
bear
Grizzly Black Giant
bear
bear panda
Coral Sea
Red Abert
fox squirrel snake star
*King Philip Came Over
From Great Spain*
The classification for
humans:

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Kingdom-Animalia
Phylum-Chordata (subphylum
vertebrata)
Class-Mammalia
Order-Primate
Family-Hominidae



Genus-Homo
Species-sapiens
Why are Homo & sapiens written in
italics?????
BINOMIAL
NOMENCLATURE

Linnaeus also developed a 2 name (SPECIES
NAME) system of naming organisms.
– The species name has 2 parts. The 1st
word is the GENUS & the 2nd is the
SPECIES.
– The 1st letter of the genus name is always
capitalized. The species name is all
lower-case letters.
– Scientific names should be written in
italics or underlined.
– Homo sapiens (or Homo sapiens) is the
scientific name for humans.
Practice…

Write the following scientific names
correctly:
– BISON BISON (a buffalo)
– PANTHERA LEO (a lion)
– CARETTA CARETTA (a loggerhead sea
turtle)
Check yourself…



Bison bison or Bison bison
Panthera leo or Panthera leo
Caretta caretta or Caretta Caretta
*Please do not try to write in italics on
your quiz/test. It is too difficult for me
to tell that you meant it to be that
way. Underline instead.*
The Six-Kingdom System
of Classification includes:
 Archaebacteria
 Eubacteria
 Protista
 Fungi
 Plantae
 Animalia
The Six Kingdom System
1. ARCHAEBACTERIA
– “ancient bacteria”
– Prokaryotic
– Unicellular
– Live in hostile environments
– Auto- and heterotrophic
– Reproduce by binary fission
– Can have a cell wall containing
peptidoglycan
– Some have flagella
2. EUBACTERIA

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“true bacteria”
Prokaryotic
Unicellular
Common today
Cause disease/decay
Found almost everywhere
Auto- & heterotrophic
Reproduce by binary fission
Can have cell walls with peptidoglycan
Can have flagella
*The archaebacteria
and eubacteria used to
be grouped together as
MONERANS.
The Three-Domain
System

The domain is a more inclusive category than any
other—larger than a kingdom.
– The three domains are:
 Eukarya, which is composed of protists, fungi,
plants, and animals.
 Bacteria, which corresponds to the kingdom
Eubacteria.
 Archaea, which corresponds to the kingdom
Archaebacteria.
3. PROTISTA

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Eukaryotic
Uni- & multicellular
Auto- & heterotrophic
“junk drawer”
Some move, some don’t
Can have cell walls with cellulose
Examples-euglena, amoebas, giant
kelp
4. FUNGI

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Eukaryotic
Uni- & multicellular
Heterotrophic…NO FUNGI DO NOT
MAKE THEIR OWN FOOD!!!!!!!!
Don’t move
Cell walls with chitin
Examples-yeast, mushrooms, molds
5. PLANTAE

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Eukaryotic
Multicellular
Autotrophic
Don’t move
Cell walls have cellulose
6. ANIMALIA





Eukaryotic
Multicellular
Heterotrophic
Some can move, but not all
No cell walls
Use this chart for the
basics…