4.2.2: Classification and evolution Flashcards
Classification
Putting living things into groups with other organisms that share similar characteristics.
Number and names of historic taxonomic groups:
7 groups • Kingdom • Phylum • Class • Order • Family • Genus • Species
Current taxonomic groups
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Phylogeny
the study of evolutionary relationships between species.
Traditional classification kingdoms
Prokaryotae, protoctista, plantae, fungi, animalia
3 domains
- Bacteria
- Archaea
- Eukaryotae
Kingdoms of modern classification (x6)
- Eubacteria
- Archaebacteria
- Protoctista
- Plantae
- Fungi
- Animalia
Why scientists classify organisms
- To identify species
- To predict characteristics
- To find evolutionary links
Eubacteria (kingdom)
- Unicelluar
- No nucleus (prokaryotic)
- No membrane-bound organelles
- Carry out respiration on meso
Eubacteria (kingdom)
- Unicelluar
- No nucleus (prokaryotic)
- No membrane-bound organelles
- Carry out respiration on mesosomes
- Smaller ribosomes (70s) than other organisms
Mesosome
Folding in the cell surface membrane
Archaebacteria (kingdom)
- Unicellular, no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles
- Virtually unchanged since they evolved –> ancient
- Can survive in extreme environments e.g. hot thermal vents or acidic/anaerobic conditions
Protoctista (kingdom)
- Eukaryotic
- Mostly single-celled
- Mostly free living (don’t live within other organisms)
- Can be autotrophs or heterotrophs
- Some have chloroplasts
- “Dustbin kingdom”
Plantae (kingdom)
- Multicellular eukaryotes
- Autotrophs (because of photosynthesis)
- Contain chlorophyll
- Cellulose cell wall
- Store glucose as starch
- Can reproduce sexually or asexually (some)
Fungi (kingdom)
- Heterotrophic eukaryotes
- Unicellular (yeast) or multicellular (mushrooms)
- Chitin cell wall
- Reproduce using spores
- Saprophytic (secrete enzymes)
- Store glucose as glycogen
- No chloroplasts
- Consist of a mycelium (network of multinucleate hyphae)
Animalia (kingdom)
- Multicellular eukaryotes
- Heterotrophic
- No cell wall
- Fertilised egg develops into blastula
- Usually able to move
- Store glucose as glycogen
Chordata
Name of phylum; mostly vertebrates
Common ancestor
Organism from which two organisms evolved.
Advantages of phylogenetic classification
✔︎ Produces a continuous tree; scientists are not forced to place organisms into categories they don’t properly fit into
✔︎ Linnean classification implies different groups with the same rank are equivalent; in reality some have much longer histories (compare cats, short, and orchids, long,) and are much more diverse (30 cat species, 20,000 orchid species)
Natural selection
“survival of the fittest”; the best adapted to a given environment survive and reproduce; governed by nature, takes millions of years.
Artificial selection
breeding animals specifically for certain characteristics; governed by humans and takes centuries.
Convergent evolution
some features are so useful that they will develop independently of one another.
Reasons for gaps in the fossil record
- Fossils can be destroyed
- Fossils may not have been discovered
- Fossils are only formed under certain conditions
- Soft bodied organisms may decay before fossils can form
Why are fossils useful?
- Shows how organisms have changed over time (different layer of rock corresponds to different geological era)
- Shows relationships between extinct and extant organisms