1. How do we “classify” living organisms

2.  Classification: the systematic grouping of organisms based on common characteristics  Taxonomy: the science of identifying, classifying, and naming living things

3.  A. Aristotle’s System  Classified as either plants or animals  Then further divided things on whether or not they flew, swam, or walked on land

4.  B. Linnaeus System of Binomial Nomenclature  Binomial nomenclature: ◦ modern classification system which uses a 2-word naming system  Was based on physical and structural similarities  First word represents the genus of a species  2 nd word represents the specific epithet  Genus + specific epithet = species name

5.  B. Linnaeus System of Binomial Nomenclature  Example: ◦ Homo sapiens  “Homo” = genus  “sapiens” = specific epithet ◦ Genus will always start with a capital letter ◦ S.E. will always be lowercase ◦ Should always be written in italics

6.  C. Scientific vs. Common Names  Animals often have common names ◦ Common names can often be misleading  Taxonomists use Latin because the language is “universal” and doesn’t change

7.  A. Taxonomy: A Framework  Taxonomy shows evolutionary relationships in the naming of organisms  It also provides a framework in which to study relationships among living and extinct species

8.  B. Taxonomy: A Useful Tool  Using structural and physical characteristics to identify an organism  Dichotomous keys: help you determine the species name by looking at given characteristics

9.  A. Taxonomic Rankings  Taxon: a group of organisms (plural = taxa)  There are only 8 taxa to remember ◦ “DKPCOFGS”  Domain (most broad)  Kingdom  Phylum  Class  Order  Family  Genus  Species (most specific)

10.  B. The Larger Taxa  OCPKD  Special note, plant taxonomists use the taxa “Division” rather than “Phylum”  So for plants, it would be ◦ DKDCOFGS

12. Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Eukarya Animalia Chordata Mammalia Carnivora Felidae Lynx rufus Lynx canadensis Bobcat Lynx

13.  Pg. 9-17 ◦ #26-53  Pg. 45-46 ◦ #1-10  Pg. 99-100 ◦ #1-14

14.  In NC Coach Manual, complete the following on a clean sheet of paper. Turn in before you leave. ◦ Pg # 153  1-4 ◦ Pg. # 155-156  1-3