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Classification and Taxonomy

Classification and Taxonomy. Diversity of Life. There are over 2.5 million identified species Some biologists believe there may be 20 million more that have not been discovered How can you possibly keep track of all of these?. Before We Classify ANYTHING We Have to Name EVERYTHING.

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Classification and Taxonomy

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  1. Classification and Taxonomy

  2. Diversity of Life • There are over 2.5 millionidentified species • Some biologists believe there may be 20 millionmore that have not been discovered • How can you possibly keep track of all of these?

  3. Before We Classify ANYTHING We Have to Name EVERYTHING • One of the biggest challenges is having different namesfor the same organism in different parts of the world • Modern naming is based on Greekand Latinwords • Originally biologists used long names to describe the physical characteristicsof the organism • Unfortunately not everyone used the same characteristicsand many of these names were very long

  4. Linnaeus to the Rescue! • Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, developed a system for naming organisms • Binomial Nomenclatureis a system that gives each organism a two part scientific name • For Example: Red Maple = Acer rubrum

  5. What’s in a name? • The whole name is in Italics • The first name is the Genusname and the second name is the Speciesname • The Genus name is Capitalizedthe species name is not capitalized • The species name normally describes a characteristic of the species

  6. Classifying Organisms • Once Linnaeus had come up with a system for naming organisms he started to group them • Organisms were put into groups based on similar characteristics • These groups are called Taxaand the science of naming and grouping is called Taxonomy

  7. 7 Layer Classification System • Taxonomy uses a system of 7 levels of taxa • The organisms in each Taxon become more closely related as you move down the ladder • The Taxons in order of most general to most specific are: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus Species • Kids Play Catch Over Farmer Green’s Stable

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