Classification of Agricultural
Animals
Organisms
• Identified, grouped, and classified
• More effectively study and
communicate about them
• Plants and animals are classified or
grouped together by characteristics
they have in common
They may be characterized by
• The uses people make of them
• Physical characteristics
• Other categories used to put similar
animals together
Classification
• Several ways of classifying agricultural
animals
• Agricultural animals have been
domesticated for some type of human use
• These animals have been developed into
breeds having distinctive characteristics
and distinctive uses
Scientific Classification
–Binomial nomenclature:
Giving two names in Latin
–System developed by Swedish
Botonist named Linnaeus
Binomial Nomenclature
• Genus: First name, always
capitalized
• Species: Second name, always
lowercase
• Both are underlined!
Latin
• Was used because at the time, it was
the international language of scholars
• Many languages of the world were
based on Latin.
Example
• Cattle: Bos taurus
• Pigs: Sus scrofa
• Horses: Equus caballus
• Sheep: Ovis aries
• Dogs: Canis familiaris
Common Names
• Are often confusing
• Different organisms can have similar or
the same common name
• Different parts of the country may have
different common names for the same
animal.
Scientific Classification
• Orderly and systematic approach to
identification
• Broad groups of animals are classified
together in categories of common
characteristics
Scientific Classification
• Each group is then broken down
further into smaller categories
• Process is repeated until the groups
cannot be categorized into smaller
groups.
Seven Levels of
Classification
• Kingdom- largest
• Phyla
• Class
• Order
• Family
Seven Levels of
Classification
• Genus
• Species- smallest
Kingdoms
• Animalia: all multicelled animals
• Plantae: multicellular plants that
produce chlorophyll through
photosynthesis
Kingdoms
• Monera: bacteria and blue-green
algae
• Protista: paramecia and amoebae
• Fungi: mushrooms and other fungi
Kingdom
• The Kingdom animalia includes
all animals ranging from a tiny
gnat to huge whales. Because
of this diversity we have to
further subdivide into phyla.
Phyla
• The primary divisions of the
kingdom Animalia
• The kingdom animalia is divided
into twenty-seven phyla.
Phyla
• The word phyla comes from the
Greek word phulon meaning race
or kind
• Several phyla are divided into
subphyla
• Most agricultural animals belong to
the phylum Chordata
Phyla
• Chordata is divided into subphylas
• Vertebrata – animals with backbones
Classes
• The phyla and subphyla are further
divided into classes.
• Agricultural animals such as
horses, cattle, goats, sheep, and
pigs belong to the class Mammalia.
Classes
• Amphibia: frogs, toads
• Reptilia: turtles, snakes, lizards
• Aves: birds
• Mammalia: horses, cattle, pigs
Orders
• Classes are divided into smaller
groups that categorize animals
within a class that possess
certain characteristics called
orders.
Order
• The class Mammalia contains
eighteen different orders including
• Primates – humans
• Artiodactyla – cows, goats, sheep,
pigs
Artiodactyla
• The order Artiodactyla have
three suborders.
• Suiformes: pigs,
hippopotami
Artiodactyla
• Tylopoda: camels, llamas
• Ruminantia: deer, cattle,
sheep
Families
• Orders and suborders still have
to be broken down smaller.
These are called families.
Genus and Species
• The final categories of the
scientific classification system
are genus and species.
Genus and Species
• The Genus and Species are
also an animal’s scientific name.
• These are always Latin or
latinized
Classification of Breeds
• A breed of animals is defined as
a group of animals with a
common ancestry and common
characteristics that breed true.
Classification of Breeds
• Breeding true: means that the
offspring will almost always look
like the parents
Selective Breeding
• Choosing the best and desired
animals and using those
animals for breeding purposes.
Purebreds
• These are animals whose
ancestors are of only one breed.
Breed Associations
• An organization that promotes a
certain breed of animal. They
control the registration process
of purebred animals of that
breed.
Blood Typing
• Not only physical characteristics
are used in breed identification.
• Blood typing is analyzing and
animals blood to determine their
history.
Crossbreeding
• Sometimes species can be
successfully crossed to produce
new breeds.
Example
• One of the first successful
breeds: Santa Gertrudis, which
a cross between Shorthorn
breed of cattle with the Brahman
breed of cattle.
Classification According
to Use
• Meat Animals
• Work Animals
Classification of Horses
• Cutting horses: used to
heard and work cattle
• Draft Breeds: used to pull
wagons and heavy loads
Classification of Horses
• Harness Horses: used for
pulling sulkies or light carriages
Dual-Purpose Animals
• An animal that is raised for more
than one purpose.
Examples
• Cows and Calves
• Sheep
• Camels (in the desert of the
Middle East)