Biologists use a system of scientific classification to
• Biologists use a system of scientific classification to organize information about the diversity of living things.
But first … a brief history…. More than 2000 years ago, system…. . Aristotle’s classification • classified organisms as either animals or plants. • Animals were classified according to the where they lived.
Linnaeus’s System • Carl Linnaeus’s system is the basis for the system we use today for taxonomy. (Father of Taxonomy). . Based on morphology • Taxonomy: The science or study of classification. • Modern taxonomists also use. . Phylogeny: an organism’s evolutionary history
Modern taxonomists use phylogenetic trees and cladograms What is a phylogenetic tree? It is a family tree that shows the evolutionary relationships thought to exist among groups of organisms. It shows common ancestory.
A cladogram shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms.
In modern taxonomy: Organisms are grouped by their: • anatomy, • method of reproduction, • embryonic development, • evolutionary past (phylogeny) • method of consumption, and • similarities in DNA.
Each category is contained within another, and they are arranged from: broadest to most specific. Species level Domain level Species level
Domain Kingdom Broadest Phylum Class Order Family Genus Most specific Species Binomial nomenclature Hold that thought…. .
Modern Taxonomy • • King Philip Came Over For Grape Soda Kingdom Phylum (Division) Class Order Family Genus Species
Common name A. Every Day name that people know and use B. Can be misleading 1) star-fish or 2) Sea-horse or
Binomial nomenclature = 2 Name system Genus = Puma Species descriptor = concolor Species name Written = underlined, Typed = Italics Genus = Capitalized Species descriptor – lower case
All scientific names are written in Latin Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus, which is Greek for "stout bird that bears a flame-colored throat. “ (New species discovered in 2008) Commonly known as the olive-backed forest robin
Chaos chaos
Bufonaria borisbeckeri is a species of medium-large sea snail, the “frog snails”. The species is named after the famous German tennis player, Boris Becker.
Stasimopus mandelai is a species of ctenizid trapdoor spider from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The species was named in 2004 by zoologists Brent E Hendrixson and Jason E Bond honoring Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa
Pheidole harrisonfordi is a species of ant named after the actor Harrison Ford in honor of his work in conservation.
- Slides: 19