Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the study of classifying organisms
(organizing them into groups based on their
similarities and differences).
Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist
(1707-1778), developed a system for
naming plants and animals that is still
used today.
This system is known as binomial
nomenclature, and it is used by
scientists all over the world.
According to this system, organisms
are given a two-part scientific name
(for example Homo sapiens) and are
classified into groups called taxa. The
largest taxa are called domains.
Taxonomists have organized all living things into
six kingdoms which belong to three domains:
Archaea
Bacteria
Eukarya
Eubacteria
Archaebacteria
Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
WHY IS THIS ORGANIZATION NECESSARY?
WHO DOES THE ORGANIZING?
Archaea
Archaebacteria
This is one
of the
domains.
This is the
only kingdom
in this domain.
What are some examples of organisms in this
kingdom?
Kingdom: Archaebacteria
Characteristics:
•Prokaryotes
(very simple, unicellular organisms that don’t have a
nucleus or organelles)
•Live in extreme environments
(heat, cold, salt, acid, pressure)
•Examples of organisms:
Thermophiles, which live in hot
Halobacteria, which live in very
springs and volcanoes
concentrated salt solutions
Bacteria
Eubacteria
This is one
of the
domains.
This is the only
kingdom in this
domain.
What are some examples of organisms in this
kingdom?
Kingdom: Eubacteria
Characteristics:
•Prokaryotes
•May cause disease
Examples of organisms:
•Escherichia coli
•Clostridium tetanus
•Lactobacillus
•Streptococcus
Kingdom: Eubacteria
Characteristics:
•Prokaryotes
•May cause disease
Examples of organisms:
•Staphylococcus
•Rhizobium
•Salmonella
This is one
of the
domains.
These are the
kingdoms in
this domain.
Eukarya
Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
What are some examples of organisms in these
kingdoms?
Kingdom: Protista
Characteristics:
•Eukaryotes
(cells have nuclei and organelles)
•Mostly mutlicellular
(but may be unicellular)
•May be animal-like, plant-like or fungus-like
Examples of organisms:
•Paramecia
•Euglena
•Slime molds
•Giardia
•Dinoflagellates
heterotrophic
•Trichomonas
•Diatoms
•Amoeba
•Plasmodia
heterotrophic
autotrophic
Kingdom: Fungi
Characteristics:
•Eukaryotes
•Multicellular
(e.g. button mushrooms)
•Absorptive heterotrophs
Examples of organisms:
or Unicellular
(e.g. yeast)
Kingdom: Fungi
Importance of Fungi
•Fungal spores cause allergies
•Molds, mildew, rusts, & smuts damage crops
•Yeasts are used to make beer & bread
• Antibiotic penicillin
•Decomposers & recyclers of nutrients
•Mushrooms eaten as food
•Help form blue cheeses
•Cause athlete’s foot & ringworm
•Amanita is poisonous mushroom
•Can cause yeast infections
Kingdom: Plantae
Characteristics:
•Eukaryotes
•Multicellular
•Autotrophic
Examples of organisms:
Bryophyta
Small plants
Grow in wet areas
Algae
Mostly unicellular
Live in water and
photosynthesize
May be green, brown, red
Tracheophyta
May grow very large
Can grow in areas without
lots of water due to xylem,
phloem, cuticle and stoma
Kingdom: Animalia
Characteristics:
•Eukaryotes
•Multicellular
•Ingestive heterotrophs
•Reproduce sexually and or
asexually
•Symmetrical
(radial or bilateral)
Invertebrates
Animalia
Vertebrates
Kingdom: Animalia
Invertebrates
Simplest animals
Contains the most animal species
Most found in water
Do not have backbones
Phyla: (examples)
Porifera (sponges)
Cnidarians (jellyfish, anemones)
Platyhelmenthes (flatworms)
Nematoda (roundworms)
Annelida (segmented worms)
Mollusca (bivalves, shails, octopi)
Arthropoda (crustaceans, insects,
millipedes, centipedes)
Echinoderms (starfish, brittle star)
Kingdom: Animalia
Vertebrates
More complex animals
Have backbone
Phylum:
Chordata
Classes:
Chondrichthyes (skeleton=cartilage)
Osteichthyes (skeleton=bone)
Amphibia
Reptilia
Aves
Mammalia (placentals, monotremes, marsupials)
Kingdom: Animalia
Vertebrates
More complex animals
Have backbone
Phylum:
Chordata
Classes:
Chondrichthyes (skeleton=cartilage)
Osteichthyes (skeleton=bone)
Amphibia
Reptilia
Aves
Mammalia (placentals, monotremes, marsupials)
Ring Tailed Lemur (Madagascar)
Komodo dragon (Indonesia)
Taxonomists have organized all living things into
six kingdoms which belong to three domains:
Archaea
Bacteria
Eukarya
 DOMAINS
Archaebacteria
Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia
 KINGDOMS
Eubacteria
Porifera Cnidarians Platyhelmenthes Nematoda Annelida
CLASSES 
Mollusca
Chondrichthyes
Arthropoda
 PHYLA
Echinoderms Chordata
Osteichthyes Amphibia
ORDERS 
Reptilia Aves
Mammalia
placentals, monotremes, marsupials
A CLADOGRAM SHOWS RELATIONSHIPS OF ORGANISMS BASED ON
SHARED DERIVED CHARACTERISTICS TO ESTABLISH EVOLUTIONARY
RELATIONSHIPS.
TO INTERPRET A CLADOGRAM, BEGIN AT THE BOTTOM AND MOVE UP THE
AXIS THAT SHOW THE BRANCH POINTS. GROUPS AND DERIVED CHARACTERS
APPEAR IN THE ORDER SHOWN.
A PHYLOGENIC TREE
OR
FAMILY TREE
USED TO SHOW THE EVOLUTIONARY
RELATIONSHIP THOUGHT TO EXIST
AMOUNG GROUPS OF ORGANISMS. A
PHYLOGENIC TREE REPRESENTS A
HYPOTHESIS, AND IS GENERALLY
BASED ON SEVERAL LINES OF
EVIDENCE.