Intro to CLASSIFICATION Classification : A systematic arrangement into classes or groups → Can you name some things that you might classify in your everyday life? - CLOTHES - BASEBALL CARDS - FOODS Why do you classify these things? CLASSIFICATION IS VERY HELPFUL IN BIOLOGY… How so? Indicating relationships between species Naming different types of organisms
TAXONOMY TAXONOMY: the branch of biology that names and groups organisms according to their characteristics and evolutionary history The Greek philosopher Aristotle ( BC) developed the first system for classifying living organisms over 2,000 years ago! He classified all organisms as either animal or plant Animals he subdivided into: - Land dwellers - Water dwellers - Air dwellers Once scientists uncovered more of the secrets of biology, this system was no longer adequate for naming and organizing all the life on earth
Carl Linnaeus Carolus Linnaeus Swedish naturalist Created a hierarchical system of classifying all life on earth System was based on morphology (form and structure) The morphology that Linnaeus followed holds true to phylogeny (evolutionary relationships) in most cases
Linnaeus’s Hierarchy 7 LEVELS: KINGDOM (KING) PHYLUM (PHILLIP) CLASS (CAME) ORDER (OVER) FAMILY (FOR) GENUS (GREAT) SPECIES (SPAGHETTI) Groups decrease in size ↓
Binomial Nomenclature The binomial nomenclature is the 2-part naming system to identify species Rules to writing a scientific name: The genus name is always written first The genus name is Capitalized The species name is written second Both names are italicized (or underlined if hand-written) Genus species EXAMPLES: Humans = Homo sapiens Leopard frog = Rana pipiens