1. Classifying Organisms
Taxonomy
Written by Liz Ratashak and Jennifer Doherty

2. science of classifying organisms --groups related organisms
Taxonomy
science of classifying organisms --groups related organisms
together --assigns each a name

3. About 1.5 million species named
Why Classify?
About 1.5 million species named
2-100 million species yet to be discovered

4. Common Names sea horse gray wolf firefly crayfish
spider monkey sea monkey
sea horse gray wolf
firefly crayfish
mud puppy horned toad
ringworm black bear
jellyfish
Common names can be confusing and names can vary by region.

5. Organisms can have more than 1 common name but
Naming Organisms
Organisms can have more than 1 common name but
all organisms have only 1 scientific name -usually Latin or Greek -developed by Carolus Linnaeus

6. Binomial Nomenclature
Two-word naming system
-Written in italics (or underlined if handwritten) -1st word is Capitalized --Genus -2nd word is lowercase ---species
Examples:
Felis concolor- Mountain Lion, Cougar
Homo sapiens-Human
Panthera leo- Lion
Panthera tigris-Tiger

7. Linneaus
Devised the current system of classification, which uses the following schema:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

8. Classification Organisms are sorted into nested groups
Related organisms are grouped together

9. What does it mean to be related?
Related groups
have common ancestors
have DNA similarity
Related organisms have some similar traits. For example:
Physical traits
Food requirements
Help in studying the living world

10. Why Classify? If we know what group an organism belongs to
Then we know some traits of that organism
The finer scale of classification (e.g., Kingdom v. Order) the more we know about the traits of an organism.
Help in studying the living world

11. For example If we identify something as an animal
Then we know it must eat to get its food
Because organisms in the animal kingdom must eat their food
If we identify something as a dragonfly
Then we know it must be a predator
because organisms in the dragonfly order are predators

12. Examples
Rodents
Mouse
Rat
Primates
Orangutans
Chimpanzees

13. Examples
Arthropods
May fly
Crane fly

14. This is where the classfication poster goes when done