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TAXONOMY
The Science
of
Classification
What is Taxonomy?
It is the science of:
• Describing
• Identifying
• and Naming organisms.
• It helps scientists (like
biologists) create order out of
the millions of different kinds of
plants, animals and other life.
How many animals can you find in
this rain forest scene?
29
Why is taxonomy used?
• We use
taxonomy in
our daily lives
to make order
out of chaos.
• An example
might be:
• Shopping in a
grocery store.
Using a Dichotomous Key
• A dichotomous key is a tool that
allows users to identify items or
organisms in a systematic and
reproducible fashion.
• Dichotomous keys may be used in a
variety of situations (such as for
identifying rocks and minerals), as
well as for identifying unknown
organisms to some taxonomic level
(i.e.; species, genus, family, etc.).
•What makes these keys distinctive is
that they are ordered in such a way
that a series of choices are made that
leads the user to the correct identity
of the item at which they are looking.
•"Dichotomous" means, "divided into
two parts." Therefore, dichotomous
keys always offer two choices for
each step, each of which describes
key characteristics of a particular
organism or group of organisms.
•(set up example with 4 girls/3 boys)
1. Sex female--- go to #2
Sex male--- go to #5
2. Hair color red---Sally
Hair color not red--- go to #3
3. Hair color blonde---Julie
Hair color black--- go to #4
4. Glasses worn---Deanna
Glasses not worn---Leslie
5. Shoes high-top sneakers--- Joseph
Shoes not high-tops--- go to #6
6. Hair color blonde--Michael
Hair color brown--David
Binomial nomenclature:
• All living organisms, plant, animal
and those in between, are classified
down to just two names:
• Genus
• species
• “Binomial nomenclature” roughly
translates to mean “two names.”
• Genus = generic; species = specific
Examples of genus & species:
• Homo sapien
means
“thinking
man.”
•Callenectes sapidus the blue crab
means “beautiful swimmer,”
Tursiops
truncatus is the
Atlantic
bottlenose
dolphin.
The dolphin fish
is Coryphaena
hippurus
Carolus Linnaeus (Carl von Linné)
• He developed
the modern
system of
taxonomic
classification
He published the
10th Edition of the
Systema Naturae
in 1758.
What language to use?...
• Since Linnaeus needed to be able to
communicate with scientists from
all over the world, he had to use a
language that was familiar to most
of them.
• He chose Latin, because it is:
• Apolitical
• The root of all languages
• A dead language (not spoken by
anyone as a normal dialect).
The 7 Levels of Classification:
• Classifying organisms goes from the
most general to the most specific:
Kingdom – is it plant or animal?
Phylum – vertebrate or invertebrate?
Class
Order
Family
Genus
species
How to write genus & specie:
• To indicate to the reader that an
organism has been identified all the
way to genus & specie, it is ALWAYS
written as either:
1. Genus capitalized and underlined, and
specie lower case and underlined, or
2. Genus capitalized and in italics, and
specie lower case and in italics.
• Example: Calenectes sapidus or
Calenectes sapidus
The 5 Kingdom System:
ANIMALIA
PLANTAE
FUNGI
Multi celled
Single
celled
PROTISTA
(Eukaryotic)
MONERA (Prokaryotic)
Kingdom Characteristics:
• MONERA: prokaryotic (no nuclear
membrane); unicellular;
ex: bacteria & blue-green algae.
• PROTISTA: eukaryotic; unicelled plant
and animal-like organisms; mobile &
autotrophic; ex: phytoplankton.
• FUNGI: sessile & heterotrophic.
• PLANTAE: sessile & autotrophic.
• ANIMALIA: mobile & heterotrophic.
Kingdom Metaphyta: The True Plants
• Plants differ from animals mainly by
their ability to photosynthesize
• (also known as autotrophic feeding)
• They produce a simple organic sugar
• Glucose (C6 H12 O6 ) from inorganic
materials such as:
• sunlight, water, CO2 and the nutrients
phosphates and nitrates (fertilizer)
• plants use chlorophyll a and b in their
leaves for absorbing light, and rooted
(which makes them sessile).
Kingdom Metazoa: The True Animals
• Animals are heterotrophic feeders
because they cannot produce their own
food. They need plant and animal
material to make organic compounds like:
• Carbohydrates– these are made by plants
during photosynthesis; ex: sugar &
starch.
• Fats– provide the body with more than 2X
as many calories per gram as do carbos.
• Proteins– the main source of raw
materials for the body’s muscles, blood,
skin, heart and brain (amino acids).
5 Major Marine Phyla:
• Porifera – the sponges; simplest multi-celled
animals; body full of pores and canals.
• Cnidaria – jellyfish, corals and sea anemones;
have stinging cells in their tentacles called
nematocysts used to capture prey.
• Mollusca – clams, snails, octopus and squid;
soft-bodied usually with a foot and shell.
• Arthropoda – crabs, shrimp and lobster;
jointed appendages with a hard exoskeleton.
• Echinodermata – starfish, sand dollars, sea
urchins and sea cucumbers; have spiny skin
and a water vascular system.