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Classification & Taxonomy
Mr. Young
Aristotle
“The human mind, by nature, tends
to classify all objects it comes in
contact with”
What is Classification?
• Classification is a
process of grouping
similar ideas,
information, or
objects.
• For example: Think of
when you enter a music
store such as FYE or Sam
Goody. All of the musical
selections are first
grouped by cd or tape,
then grouped according to
similar musical style, then
further grouped by
individual artist(s)
Taxonomy
• Taxonomy is the science of classification.
The branch of biology that names and groups
organisms according to their characteristics and
evolutionary history
Early History of Classification
• Classification was a process developed over
2000 years ago, by a Greek philosopher
named Aristotle.
• Aristotle’s system of classification was very
simple, an organism was classified into a
kingdom called a plant or a kingdom called
an animal.
Aristotle’s System of
Classification
• Aristotle grouped organisms by their
physical traits first and then by their habitat.
– Physical Traits: what the organism looked like.
– Habitat: the place in which an organism lives.
Aristotle
Grouped animals by where they
lived: land, air, water
Problems Arise with Aristotle’s
System of Classification
• Unfortunately, Aristotle’s system was not
working for all organisms because there
were too many exceptions.
– For instance: Frogs can live both on land and in
water, therefore being classified by habitat did
not work.
• As a result of the many exceptions and
confusion, Aristotle’s system of
classification was criticized.
A New Method of Classification
• By the middle of the 18th century, many different
methods of classification were being used and
scientists were beginning to become extremely
confused.
• It was not until Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish
physician and naturalist created a system of
classification that was based upon an organisms
body structure, shape, size, color, and methods for
obtaining food and reproducing that the confusion
was ended.
Carolus Linnaeus
Organized organisms according to
form and structure (morphology)
System we use today
Levels of Organization
– Kingdom-2 kingdoms plant and animal
(now we have 6)
– Phylum
– Class
– Order
– Family
– Genus
– Species – can reproduce fertile offspring
– Kids Play Cards On Funny Green Spaceships
Sub-Species
• Variations of species in different geographic
areas or varieties
– Pit-bull, Boxer, German Sheppard, Dalmatian
– All are Dogs
Classification Examples
Taxonomy
House cat
Mountain
lion
Domestic
dog
Human
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus Specie
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Felis
domesticus
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Felis
concolor
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
familiaris
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primate
Hominidae
Homo
sapiens
Linnaeus’s System:
Binomial Nomenclature
• Linnaeus’s System was successful because
he established binomial nomenclature:
which gave a two word name to every
organism.
Scientific Naming
• This two part name was called the organism’s scientific
name.
– The first word of the name referred to the organisms
Genus.
– The second word of the name referred to the organisms
species.
• The genus always begins with a capital letter and the
species is always lower case.
• Both the genus & species are always either written in
italics or underlined.
Scientific Naming
• Canis familiaris
– Canis is the genus.
– familiaris is the species.
• Canis familiaris means domesticated dog, it
is in Latin.
The Language of Linnaeus’s
System…
• Linnaeus’s system of naming used Latin
because when the system was designed,
Latin was the language understood by
nearly all of the educated people and was a
universal language of the educated.
Scientific Name/Common Name
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Bovine - ………..
Canine - ……….
Equine - ………
Feline - ………..
Homo – ………..
Panthera - ……….
5 Kingdom System
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Monera
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
6 Kingdom System
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ARCHAEBACTERIA
EUBACTERIA
PROTISTA
FUNGI
PLANTAE
ANIMALIA