4.3 Flashcards
(182 cards)
Why is it a huge task to place all living things into categories
Estimated 2million species alive today and each species must be studied in detail before it can be correctly placed in a group of similar organisms
Why do we categories species (3)
For our convenience, to make study of living things more manageable, to make identify organisms easier, to help use see relations between species
What does the currant system of classification use
8 taxonomic levels
What are the 8 taxonomic levels
Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
Why came up with the 8 taxonomic levels
Linnaeus came up with 7 of them but Woesse added domain in at a later date
What is in domain
Highest taxonomic rank consisting of archea, eubacteria and eukaryotae
What is in kingdom
5 main kingdoms- plantae, fungi, animalia, protoctista (all eukaryotes), prokaryotae (all single celled organisms w no nucleus)
What goes into phylum
Major subdivision of the kingdom containing all groups of organisms that have same body plan such as possession of a backbone
What is in class
Group of organisms that all posses same general traits such as same number of legs
What is in order
Subdivision of class using additional info about organism like if it’s carnivore (Carnivora) or vegetable eating (herbivora)
What goes in family
A group of closely related genera like within order Carnivora we may recognise dog family and cat family
What is in genus
A group of closely related species
What is in species
Basic unit of classification, all members of a species show some variation but essentially are the same
How do you remember the taxonomic groups
Domain King Prawn Curry Or Fat Greasy Sausages
Is it easier or harder to class species at the top of the taxonomic levels and what does this mean
Difference between organism can be very great at the top so it is easier to place organisms into domain, kingdom, phylum
Where does it become more difficult to class organisms
Within the class as the difference between classes in one phylum may not be very great
Is it easier or harder to class organisms as you go further down and what does this mean
Harder to separate closely related species and to place a species accurately so more detail and descriptions needed
What does binomial name mean
2 names
How does binomial name work
The organisms genus name followed by their species name
How should you write a binomial name
Either in italics or underlined and the species should not have a capital letter
Who were species classified before Linnaeus divided his system
Species identified by a column name or a long detailed description
Why does using a column name, system before Linnaeus, not work well
Some organisms may have different column names in different parts of a country, different common names used in different countries, translation of language may give different name, same common name may be used for different species in different parts of the world
Why did Linnaeus use Latin
As it’s universal, meaning whenever a species is named it has a universal name which every scientist will use in every country to avoid potential confusion of column names
What is biological definition of a species
A group of organisms that can freely interbreed to produce fertile offspring