1.2 The nature of Classification Flashcards
(12 cards)
Biological classification
is the systematic grouping of organisms into biological categories based on the physical and evolutionary relationships
living things can be classified into 4 familiar categories
Producer,
Herbivore,
Carnivore,
Scavenger
Taxonomy
is the science of classifying all organisms.
We classify both living species and extinct.
Why is it a challenge to identify some species
Some species are hard to tell apart
Some members of the same species look very different (males vs females, young vs mature, different colouration)
Species evolve over time
Early Classification
Early names and classification systems were highly variable- leading to confusion
Carl Linnaeus
father of taxonomy
Introduced a consistent way of grouping species according to morphological similarities
Established binomial nomenclature
binomial nomenclature
a two name system whereby each species is assigned a genus name followed by a specific name
Genus name
The genus name is like a category; the species usually describes it or is named after a prominent person.
Scala Naturae
“the chain of great being”
Based on the assumption that humans were at the top of a ladder, with all other “inferior” living things positioned below
This notion suggested that species were fixed, unchanging over time
Linnaeus was one of the first prominent biologists to doubt this fixed nature of species
Traditional Taxonomy
Linnaeus grouped species into taxonomic ranks based on shared characteristics
Each level is called a taxon (plural: taxa).
The 7 major levels
Domain Dear
Kingdom King
Phylum Phillip
Class Came
Order Over
Family For
Genus Good
Species Spaghetti
Dichotomous keys
used to identify species
The identifier works their way through a set of choices, each one having only two options
At the end, each species can be identified
