BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE
Scientific name of a species that consists of two parts, the genus name and the specific species name. Apis mellifera
SYSTEMATICS
Reconstruction and study of evolutionary relationships.
PHYLOGENY
Evolutionary (relationship) history of an organism, including which species are closely related and in what order related species evolved, often represented in the form of an evolutionary tree
TAXONOMY
Science of classifying living things, by agreement among taxonomists, no two organisms can have the same name, and all names are expressed in Latin.
TAXON
Group or category
PHENETICS
Classify organisms based on overall similarity, usually in morphology or other observable traits, regardless of their phylogeny or evolutionary relation
CLADISTICS
Taxonomic technique used to creating hierarchies of organisms that represent true phylogenetic relationship and descent
CLADE
Contains a common ancestor and all of its descendants who share the common characteristic
DERIVED CHARACTERISTIC
Characteristic used in taxonomic analysis representing a departure from the primitive form
EUKARYOTE
Cell characterized by membrane bounded organelles, most notably the nucleus, and one that possesses chromosomes whose DNA is associated with proteins an organism composed of such cells.
PROKARYOTE
Bacterium a cell lacking a membrane-bounded nucleus or membrane-bounded organelles.
AUTOTROPH
Organism able to build all the complex organic molecules that it requires as its own food source using only simple inorganic compounds.
HETEROTROPH
Organism that cannot derive energy from photosynthesis or inorganic chemicals and so must feed on other plants and animals obtaining chemical energy by degrading their organic molecules.