Classification of Living Things

Diversity of LifeBy: Mr. Lowe

What is classification?

•ClassificationClassification : The grouping of things according to shared characteristics or traits.

•TaxonomyTaxonomy: The science of classifying organisms.

Early classification systems

• The Greek Scientist AristotleAristotle first classified living organisms as either plant or animal.

•John RayJohn Ray was the first to use the term “species”

Binomial Nomenclature

• Developed by Carolus LinnaeusCarolus Linnaeus

• Two-name system

• Each organism has a GenusGenus and a speciesspecies name

• First name (genus); second name (species)

Linnaeus Classification Example

1. Round, separated petals 2. Large, broad petals

3. Bunched, pointed petals

What is a scientific name?

• Combination of the Genus and species name of an organism

• Scientific names of organisms are always italicized or underlined

• The first letter of the Genus is always capitalized.

Example: Panthera tigris

Questions

• What is classification?

• Why is classifying living things important?

• What is taxonomy?

• Describe binomial nomenclature.

Questions

• Who developed a system for naming living organisms?

• For what is John Ray known?

• What is a scientific name of an organism and how is it written?

Seven classification groups of living things

Kingdom - Largest category

Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species - Smallest Category

Leopard Classification

Mnemonic to help remember the Classification Groups!

•King Poopoo Came Over For Great Spaghetti

Questions

•What are the seven classification groups?

Scientific Naming• Why is it

important?– avoid confusion

when discussing information with other scientists• some animals have

different names in different parts of the world

– allows for easy organization

What type of animal is this?

In Florida = Florida Panther

Eastern US = Mountain LionWestern US = Cougar

South America = Puma

Scientific Name = Puma concolor

Dichotomous Key• What is it?

– a tool used to identify an organism if you don’t know exactly what it is

– each type of organism has its own specific key• so you can tell the differences between

similar organisms

Dichotomous Key

• How do they work?– made up of a detailed list of questions

about identifying characteristics– each question has 2 possible answers– the questions gradually narrow down the

list of possible organisms– eventually leads to an organism’s

scientific name

1A Object has only straight lines, go to 2

1B Object has curved line, go to 4

2A Color is blue-- Azul calamus

2B Color is not blue, go to 3

3A Object has four equal sides--Quadratis rufus

3B Opposite sides of object are equal-- Rectangulo crudus

4A Object has one continuous curving line, go to 5

4B Object has curved and straight lines--Azul undo

5A Object is red--Ovalado rufus

5B Object is green--Orbis crudus