taxonomy

Define taxonomy
Taxonomy is a science that deals with the
naming, describing, and classification of all
living organisms including plants.
Classification is based on behavioral, genetic,
and biochemical variations. Characterization,
identification, and classification are the
processes of taxonomy. Organisms are
classified into similar categories namely
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus,
and species.

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 What is Systematics

 Systematics refers to the study and classification of

organisms for the determination of the evolutionary
relationship of organisms. Therefore, the systematics
consists of both taxonomy and evolution. Systematics
uses morphological, behavioral, genetics, and
evolutionary relationships between organisms. By
using these characteristic features, systematics
describes an organism by means of classification,
name, cladistics, and phylogenetics. Cladistics refers
to the classification of organisms based on the
branching of different lineages from a common
ancestor. Phylogenetics refers to the study of the
history of evolution and the relationship among
groups of organisms. Phenetics refers to the
characteristics of organisms excluding
phylogenetics. 
Taxonomy vs systematic
 Systematics is a larger area than taxonomy.
In fact, taxonomy is a branch of
systematics. Taxonomy is a field of biology
that carries out the classification and
naming of organisms. On the other hand,
systematics is a field of biology that
determines the evolutionary relationships
of organisms. Taxonomy is a primary tool
in systematics. Most importantly,
taxonomy does not deal with the
evolutionary history of organisms while
systematics deals with the evolutionary
history of organisms. Thus, this
summarizes the difference between
taxonomy and systematics.
Early taxonomists
 2000 years ago, Aristotle (384 BC-322BC) was the
first taxonomist
 Aristotle divided organisms into plants & animals
 He subdivided them by their habitat- land, sea, or
air
 Early scientists use common names to identify the
organisms
 Example of the common names;
 Seahorse, starfish, sealion, jellyfish
Father of taxonomy
 Carl Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné
or Carolus Linnaeus, is often called the Father
of Taxonomy. His system for naming, ranking,
and classifying organisms is still in wide use
today (with many changes). His ideas on
classification have influenced generations of
biologists during and after his own lifetime,
even those opposed to the philosophical and
theological roots of his work.
Why classify?
 Tostudy the diversity of the life, biologists
use a classification system to name and
group them in logical manner.
Binomial
nomenclature
 “bi” means 2
 “nominal” means naming
 Nomenclature means “the system of
naming”

 Define;
 In binomial nomenclature, each species
is assigned a two-part scientific name
Example of binomial
nomenclature

 Polar bear is Ursus maritimus

 Ursus: genus
Ursus contains 5 other kinds of
bears
Maritimus: species
The Latin word, maritimus, refers to
the sea: polar bears
Classification of
living things
DOMAIN- the highest
taxonomic category in
biological classification
phylum
Agroup that constitutes or has the unity of a
phylum
Consider the animal kingdom, there is a phylum
group called “chordates,” and it refers to all
animals with a spinal column. As humans, we are
also part of the chordate phylum. Like the Plantae
Kingdom, phyla is broken down into divisions:
• Porifera: sponges

• Coelenterata: jellyfish, hydras, and corals

• Platyhelminthes:
flatworms
• Nematoda: roundworms

• Annelida: segmented worms

• Arthropoda:arthropods like insects
• Mollusca: mollusks like clams

• Echinodermata: sea urchins

• Chordata: chordates
Order
 As you might guess, the order is just
another way to break down the class
of plants and animals. Think of it as
“refining your search.” Some orders
include carnivores, primates, rodents,
Fagales, and Pinales.
genus
 The genus is the first part of a living
thing’s scientific name, also known as
binomial nomenclature. Let’s look at
lions and tigers, for example, the 
scientific name for a lion is Panthera leo,
and the tiger is Panthera tigris; Panthera
is the genus.
 Genus name is always capitalized
Species
 The species is the final and most
specific level of the classification
system. The best way to describe a
species is a group of organisms that
are best suited for breeding healthy
offspring, which can also continue
to reproduce.
 The Species name is always
lowercase
 Genus species

 If
these three species
belong to the same genus,
they are descended from a
common ancestor
Classification
using cladograms
 CLADOGRAM- a diagram
that shows the evolutionary
relationship among a group
of organisms
 Traditional classification systems relied on body
structure comparisons only

Due to convergent evolution, organisms that are

quite different from each other evolve similar
body structure
A problem with
traditional
CONVERGENT EVOLUTION- the process
classification by which unrelated organisms’ independently

Evolve similarities when adapting to similar

environment
Evolutionary
classification
 Biologists now group organisms into
categories that represent lines of
evolutionary
descent, not just physical similarities

EVOLUTIONARY CLASSIFICATION
- is the grouping of organisms together
based on their evolutionary history
Classification of history
The three-domain system
 Recently, as evidence of microorganisms continue to accumulate, biologists
came to realize that the kingdom monera were composed of 2 distinct groups
 The 6- kingdom system of classification
 Includes kingdom
 1.eubacteria 5.plantae
 2.archaebacteria 6. Animalia
 3.protista
 4.fungi
6- KINGDOM
Where do the viruses go?
 VIRUSES- are particles of nucleic acid, protein, and
in some cases lipids that can reproduce only by
infecting living cells.
 VIRUSES – are made of a core of either DNA or RNA
surrounded by a protein coat
 These are T4 bacteriophage
a bacteriophage is a virus that infects bacteria
 Viruses are not considered alive because
they don’t have ALL the characteristics of
life

 Example: they can’t produce independently

 These are influenza viruses

 Influenza or “flu” is an infection of the
respiratory tract that can affect million of
people every year
questions
 1. what are the 8 levels of the modern system classification
 2 who is the father of taxonomy
 3. what is taxonomy
 4 a diagram that shows the evolutionary relationship among a
group of organisms
 5. He subdivided them by their habitat- land, sea, or air
Thank you for listening