Taxonomy – how organisms are grouped

In other words, naming things. Taxonomy Defined: Discipline of classifying organisms and assigning each organism a universally accepted name. In other words, naming things.

Why common names don’t work Common names vary among languages. Example: United Kingdom – Buzzard refers to a hawk United States – Buzzard refers to a vulture Red-tailed Hawk Honey Buzzard Turkey Vulture

History Aristotle – grouped organisms by basic characteristics Ex blood or no blood Scientists would describe the appearance of an organism in great detail. Very long process Modern naming of animals – Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1708) Created the system of naming we use today. Developed Binomial Nomenclature (a system that used 2 latin words to describe an organism. The First word is the GENUS of the organism. The second is the SPECIES of the organism. In taxonomy, a group or level of organization is called a taxonomic category or taxon.

Using your name, what would be your name in Binomial nomenclature? Ex: Mrs. Beard’s first name is Amy, so her scientific name is Beard amy Yours:

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 often live on pack ice that floats in the sea.

Examples of Binomial Nomenclature Polar Bear = Ursus martimus Grizzly Bear = Ursus arctos horribilus Black Bear = Ursus americanus

In addition to Genus and Species, each organism has other categories it can belong to. These categories are called TAXA(plural) or TAXON (singular)

Each organism has its own… Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

How to remember: Da King Phillip Came Over For Green Salad Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

Definitions to know Species: group of similar organisms that can breed and reproduce Genus: group of closely related species

Family: Group of genera that share many characteristics Order: Group of similar families Class: Group of similar orders Phylum: Group of closely related classes Kingdom: Largest taxonomic group, consisting of closely related phyla.

What do these mean?...lets see Here We Go… Polar Bear Species: maritimus Genus: Ursus Family: Ursidae Order: Carnivora Class: Mammalia Phylum: Chordata Kingdom: Animilia Domain: Eukarya What do these mean?...lets see

What they mean Species: maritimus (lives in marine environment) Genus: Ursus (kind of bear) Family: Ursidae (larger category of bears) Order: Carnivora (meat-eating animals) Class: Mammalia (warm-blooded, hair, & milk) Phylum: Chordata (vertebrates) Kingdom: Animilia (there are 6 kingdoms)

Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Carnivora Family Ursidae Genus Ursus Species maritimus

For humans…this is their taxonomic classification: Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Primate Family: Hominidae Genus: Homo Species: sapiens

Ways to identify organisms Dichotomous Key Statements that describe organisms to help identify them Always start with the first 2 statements Cladogram A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms.

Classification Using Cladograms

Segmentation Free swimming Larva Molted Exoskeleton Crustaceans Gastropods Molted Exoskeleton Using Cladograms, you can see that crabs and barnacles share similar characteristics because they both molt & are segmented Segmentation Free swimming Larva

These are T4 Bacteriophage Where do 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 which infects bacteria

Where do viruses go? (continued) Viruses are not considered alive because they don’t have ALL the characteristics of life. Example: They can’t reproduce independently These are the Influenza Viruses Influenza or "flu" is an infection of the respiratory tract that can affect millions of people every year.

The End.