Taxonomy Flashcards
Module 1 (Lecture 5)
Study of the principles of scientific classification; systematic ordering and naming of organisms
Taxonomy
Any taxonomic group or entity
Taxon/Taxa
Who governs taxonomy?
Nobody
New species are decided via peer-review
How do you ‘discover’ a new species?
No firm rules
Compare morphological, genetic features, physiological features to known specimens
Publish in scientific journal
The evolutionary history of the origin and diversification of any taxon, usually presented in the form
of a dendrogram. The one true tree of life.
Phylogeny
An approach or methodology for classifying organisms based on common evolutionary descent
Cladistics
Father of
Taxonomy
Linneaus (Swedish botanist, 1707-1778)
Who first unified system for naming all plants and animals
(Systema Naturae)
Linneaus (Swedish botanist, 1707-1778)
How was Systema Naturae organised?
Based on shared characters among organisms
Doesn’t consider evolution (predates evolutionary biology)
Hierarchical system of
classification based on Linnaean taxonomy
Taxonomic Ranks
What are the ranks of taxonomy?
Species, Genus, Family, Order, Class, Phylum, Kingdom, and Domain
Subspecies, subclass, superorder are examples of …
Intermediate taxa
Problems with Modern Taxonomy (3)
Not governed by any international body
Skewed towards pedagogical convenience rather than a
true reflection of phylogeny
Hierarchical ranks are difficult and outdated
Animalia (= Metazoa)
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Monera (all prokaryotes)
5 Kingdom System
Animalia (= Metazoa)
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Archea
Bacteria
6 Kingdom system
How are species named?
Common Name
Scientific/Latin Name
Not generally standardized, Multiple names for one species possible, Multiple species for one name possible, Varies across languages
Common Name
Standardized and consistent around the world, Changes with phylogeny
Scientific/Latin Name
Composed of two words (bionomial)
Genus and Species
Scientific/Latin Name
How to write the Scientific Name of a species?
Genus (italics, first letter capitalized)
Species (italics, all lower case)
sp. Meaning
Singular Unknown Species
spp. Meaning
Multiple species of a same genus
In what case do we use trinomial nomenclature?
When there are Subspecies
