1. The science of naming and grouping organisms
Taxonomy
The science of naming and grouping organisms

2. We’re going to talk about TAXONOMY (classifying names)…
not to be confused with TAXIDERMY (classifying skins)!!
Not this!

3. The first taxonomist was Aristotle, a Greek philosopher (384-322 BC)
He placed all organisms into two groups using simple names
Pros and Cons of this?
Plant
Animal OR
crawl
shrub
fly
tree
herb
swim

4. Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) binomial nomenclature First word = genus
Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist & physician
Grouped organisms based on their physical and structural similarities
Described organisms with two word names:
binomial nomenclature
First word = genus
Second word = species
What do you think “binomial nomenclature” means?

5. Why binomial nomenclature?
Scientific name - “two word naming system”
Uses Latin, a “dead”, unchanging language. Why is this a good idea? (Organisms have the same name no matter where you go or what language you speak!)
Genus is written first, then species
Genus is capitalized, species is not. Both are italicized if typed, underlined if written.

6. Some scientific names…
Homo sapiens
Canis lupus
Felis domesticus
Iguana iguana
Pan troglodytes
Panthera tigris
Pomacea bridgesii
Quercus alba

7. Taxonomic hierarchy
Names organisms and their relationships from very broad to very specific
Can anyone name all 7 taxa????
Kingdom…

8. Organisms are classified in a hierarchy
Kingdom (broadest)
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species (most specific)

9. Mnemonic Devices Kings Play Chess On Fat Guy’s Stomach
King Philip Came Over For Green Spaghetti
Kangaroo Pouches Can Only Fit Green Skittles
Katie Plays Clarinet On Fast Green Skis
What can you come up with?

10. Human Giant Panda
Kingdom Animalia Animalia
Phylum Chordata Chordata
Class Mammalia Mammalia
Order Primate Carnivora
Family Hominidae Ursidae
Genus Homo Ailuropoda
Species sapiens melonoleuca

11. But what are Domains???
Recently, some major differences between cell types became known. This lead to the development of a new taxonomic category – the domain.
A domain is larger than a Kingdom.
There are 3 domains:
Domain Eukarya (animals, plants, protists, fungi)
Domain Bacteria (Kingdom Eubacteria)
Domain Archea (Kingdom Archaebacteria)

13. So, what is a species anyway?
Biological species concept
A group of actually or potentially breeding natural groups that are reproductively isolated from other groups. Ernst Mayr, 1924
Some problems:
Asexual organisms
Hybrids
Sterile offspring of two different species

14. How many species are out there?
There are probably around 10 million species worldwide, but estimates range from 5-30 million!
Over 5 million live in the tropics
Only 2 million species have been formally described (and over half of these are insects!!)
Each year, there are approximately three bird species discovered, many fish species, and countless insects and other small or microscopic organisms

15. Why is taxonomy useful? Helps prevent confusion among scientists
Helps to show how organisms are related
Can be used to reconstruct phylogenies – evolutionary histories – of an organism or group

16. Phylogenetic Tree

17. Cladograms
Graph showing when different groups diverged from a common ancestral line
Points where they split are often noted with a feature that was different between ancestral group and a “new” feature in the group that split off.

18. Cladogram

19. Dinosaur Cladogram

20. Opposable Thumbs
Warm-Blooded
Backbone
Gorilla
Snake
Hawk
Bee

21. The 6 kingdoms Prokaryotes (Used to be 1 kingdom, Monera) Eukaryotes
1. Archaebacteria
2. Eubacteria
Eukaryotes
3. Fungi
4. Protista
5. Animalia
6. Plantae

22. Overview of the 6 kingdoms

23. Kingdom Archaebacteria
Unicellular
Live in extreme environments like volcanic hot springs, deoxygenated mud, extremely salty pools of water
The “Extremists”
Prokaryotic
Cell walls do not have the
sugar peptidoglycan

24. Kingdom Eubacteria Unicellular Prokaryotic Common, everyday bacteria
Cell walls contain peptidoglycan (a molecule that adds strength and support to cell walls)
Examples: E. coli, Streptococcus, & beneficial bacteria found in yogurt!

25. Kingdom Protista Kingdom Fungi Eukaryotic Unicellular or colonial
Autotrophic and heterotrophic
Lots of different types and lifestyles
examples. Amoeba, paramecium
Kingdom Fungi
Cell walls made of chitin
Eukaryotic & mostly multicellular
External heterotrophs
Examples: mushrooms, mold

26. Kingdom Plantae Kingdom Animalia Eukaryotic & Multicellular
Cell walls made of cellulose
Autotrophic
Examples: trees, flowers, broccoli
Kingdom Animalia
No cell walls
Internal heterotrophs
Examples: sponges, worms, insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals (including humans!)

27. THE END
(Nothing is cuter than a baby sloth with shampoo horns!)

28. Features that could be used on a cladogram…
Backbone
Tetrapod (4 limbs)
Scales
Feathers
Fur/Hair
Warm Blooded
Amnion (fluid enclosing embryos of reptiles, birds, mammals)
Eukaryotic Cells
Wings