Classification & Taxonomy
Classification vs. Taxonomy
Taxonomy – branch of biology that names and groups organisms
according to similar characteristics
Classification – scheme or mechanism by which organisms are
organized
ARISTOTLE:
first person to group or
classify organisms
into two groups
Plants vs. Animals
Aristotle’s System
PLANTS:
Based on
size of stem
ANIMALS:
Based on
where they lived
Problems?
Not all organisms fit into Aristotle’s two
groups (plants or animals)
Ex: Bacteria
&
Fungi
Problems?
Common names can be misleading
Ex:
A jelly fish isn’t a fish,
but a seahorse is!
Sea cucumber
sounds like a plant
but… it’s an animal!
Problems?
Common names vary from place to place
Ex: puma,
catamount,
mountain lion,
cougar
are all names
for same animal
Problems
Same organisms have different names in
different countries.
Chipmunk
Streifenhornchen
(German)
Tamia (Italian)
Ardilla listada
(Spanish)
Middle Ages - Solution
Some early scientists devised scientific
names using long descriptions in
LATIN.
Ex. RED OAK tree
Quercus foliis obtuse-sinuatis setaceomucronatis
“oak with leaves with deep blunt lobes
bearing hairlike bristles”
PROBLEM w/ Latin Naming?
Names too long, hard to remember!
Names don’t show relationships between
different animals
Carolus Linnaeus to the
rescue!
(1707-1778)
Carolus Linneaus:
devised a classification
system based on
MORPHOLOGY
_________________
(Organism’s form &
structure)
Linnaeus’s System
Involved two components:
1. binomial nomenclature
2. heirarchy
Binomial Nomenclature:
Bi means two
Nomen means name
BINOMIAL
NOMENCLATURE
(2 name naming system)
GENUS NAME
• 1st name = _______________
– Always capitalized
IDENTIFIER
•2nd name = SPECIES
_________________
–Always lower case
UNDERLINED or
•Both names are ______________
ITALICS
written in ____________.
Binomial nomenclature
Humans
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens
Binomial Nomenclature
Vampire bat
Desmodus rotundus
Eastern chipmunk
Tamias striatus
SEVEN LEVELS OF TAXONOMIC ORGANIZATION
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
King
Phillip
Came
Over
For
Good
Spaghetti
HEIRARCHY
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Genus Panthera
Species leo
So what do we use now?
MODERN TAXONOMY
Still uses Linnaeus’s system:
but we have added more
_____________
KINGDOMS
Remember: Aristotle only had 2.
Modern Taxonomy
Kingdom
Pro/Eu
Uni/Multi Auto/
Cell
Hetero
Ex
Archaebac- Prokaryotic Unicellular Both
teria
Eubacteria Pro
Uni
Both
Extremophile
E. Coli
Protista
Eukaryotic Both
Both
Fungi
Eu
Hetero
Plant
Eukaryotic Multi
Auto
Euglena,
Amoeba
Yeast,
mushroom
Trees, Ferns
Animal
Eu
Hetero
Bird, shark
Both
Multi