Classification

& Taxonomy

Essential Question: How is the

diversity of life classified and
named?
Who are YOU???
What do YOU call this animal?
Basic Definitions

• Classification

• Taxonomy
Why classify organisms?
1. To organize the diversity
of life

2. To help us know what

organism we are referring
to
 Who developed our current
classification system, and what
is it?
• Carolus Linneaus
Levels of Classification
Kingdom (6)

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species
Linnaean System of Classification

• Each level is called a taxon

• Smallest taxon is the species

• Species ~ only level where
organisms interbreed
Example
There are 6 Kingdoms
Kingdom Animalia
• Multicellular
• Eukaryotic
• Heterotrophic
• No cell walls
• Reproduces sexually
by meiosis.
• All animals have
some type of
symmetry
 Kingdom Plantae
• Multicellular
• Eukaryotic
• Autotrophic
• Can reproduce both
ways.
• Cell walls made of
cellulose.
• All but a few are land
dwellers. 350,000 species
• Including:mosses, ferns,
conifers, flower plants
Kingdom Fungi
• Unicellular or multicellular
• Eukaryotic
• Heterotrophic
• Cells walls made of chitin.
• Reproduces - asexually
• 100,000 species
• Including: toadstools,
mushrooms, puffballs,
rusts or smut
 Kingdom Protista
• Unicellular or multicellular
• Eukaryotic
• Cell walls made of varying
materials
• Autotroph or heterotroph
• About 50,000 species
• Reproduces-asexually
• Examples include:
• Euglena
• Amoeba
Kingdom Eubacteria
• Unicellular, prokaryote
• Either autotroph or
heterotroph
• Cell walls made of
peptidoglycan
• Reproduces by binary
fission
• Includes common bacteria:
tooth decay, yogurt
production, food poisoning
• AKA–Kingdom Moneran
 Kingdom Archaebacteria
• Unicellular, Prokaryote
• Either autotroph or
heterotroph
• Cell walls made of
peptidoglycan
• Reproduces by binary
fission
• Lives in Harsh
environments: salty lakes,
hot springs, anaerobic
environments
• AKA–Kingdom Moneran
 How do we name organisms?

• Each organism is given a two-part

scientific name using only the Genus
and species names

• binomial nomenclature
Why do we use Scientific Names?

• South America – gato monte

• North US - puma
• South US – mountain lion
• Florida - panther

• Scientific Name – Felis concolor

3 Rules for writing
Scientific Names
• 1) First letter of genus – ALWAYS
CAPATILIZED
• 2) First letter of species – never
capitalized
• 3) Scientific names are italicized
(if typed) or underlined if hand
written
Examples
• Ursus maritimus
• Ursus arctos
• Genus-Ursus = bear
• Species-maritimus =
sea
• Species-arctos =
grizzly
Which of these are written
correctly?
1. Viola tricolor (pansy with 3-colored
flower)
2. Quercus phellos (Willow Oak)
3. Nymphaea ordata (fragrant water
lily)
4. Clostridium Botulinum (bacteria that
causes a form of food poisoning)
5. homo sapiens
Which of these are written
correctly?
1. Viola tricolor (pansy with 3-colored
flower)
2. Quercus phellos (Willow Oak)
3. Nymphaea ordata (fragrant water
lily)
4. Clostridium Botulinum (bacteria that
causes a form of food poisoning)
5. homo sapiens
2 Rules for assigning scientific
names

• 1) All scientific names must be Latin

words/terms
• 2) NO two organisms can have the same
scientific name
Grizzly bear Black bear Giant panda Red fox Abert Coral snake Sea star
squirrel

KINGDOM Animalia

PHYLUM Chordata

CLASS Mammalia

ORDER Carnivora

FAMILY Ursidae

GENUS Ursus

SPECIES Ursus arctos

 In review…
• Kingdom • King Kings
• Phylum • Philip Play
• Class • Came Chess
• Order • Over On
• Family • For Fuzzy
• Genus • Good Green
• Species • Soup Stools
Questions???
CONCEPT REVIEW: True or False

1) Biologists use a
classification system
to name organisms
and group them in a
logical manner.

TRUE
CONCEPT REVIEW: Multiple Choice

The science that

specializes in the
classification of
organisms is
A) anatomy
B) taxonomy
C) botany
D) biology
CONCEPT REVIEW: Multiple Choice

The science that

specializes in the
classification of
organisms is
A) anatomy
B) taxonomy
C) botany
D) biology
CONCEPT REVIEW: Multiple Choice
The largest most
inclusive of Linnaeus’s
taxonomic categories
is the

A) kingdom
B) phylum
C) order
D) species
CONCEPT REVIEW: Multiple Choice
The largest most
inclusive of Linnaeus’s
taxonomic categories
is the

A) kingdom
B) phylum
C) order
D) species
 The Tree of Life has been
updated since Linnaeus’s time
• Scientists now
classify
organisms into an
even broader
category, called
the domain,
above the
kingdom level
 3 Domains: Archaea, Bacteria &
Eukarya
DOMAIN
ARCHAEA

DOMAIN
EUKARYA

Eubacteria
DOMAIN Archaebacteria
BACTERIA Protista
Plantae
Fungi
Animalia
 Three Domains: Six Kingdoms
• Eukarya • Bacteria • Archea
– Animal – Eubacteria – Archeabacteria
– Plant • Peptidoglycan • No
in the cell peptidoglycan
– Fungi walls in the cell walls
– Protista
Prokaryotic Prokaryotic
All have single celled single celled
organisms organisms organisms that
made of live in extreme
eukaryotic environments
cells
Identifying organisms using a
dichotomous key

• a key used to identify an organism
• each stage presents descriptions of two distinguishing
characters, with a direction to another stage in the key,
until the species is identified
Classification Lab
 Classification Today
• Diagrams depicting evolutionary
relationships based on molecular
evidence.

• Phylogeny
• Cladogram
 Reading a cladogram/phylogeny
• Each branch
represents an
evolutionary lineage
• X-axis is
evolutionary
distance from each
other and the y-axis
is relative time
• Intersecting lines
represent a
speciation event
Practice Problems
Your turn
 To be successful
today…
1) Pick up graded work (1)

2) Turn in cladogram analysis & cladogram cut and

paste

BYOD Color of the day is Phones are in put

away in backpacks
Dichotomous Key
What’s in the Bag?
Importance of Taxonomy
Fight tumors

Zebra mussel

Orange oil
Pine sol

Kudzu vine
How would dogs or cats be classified?

• What defines a species?

• Term breed
Where are YOU???