Classification: The arrangement of organisms into group of various sizes on the base of shared features
Taxonomy: A form of classification that focuses on physical similarities between different species for naming and classification
Phylogeny: The classification of organisms by their evolutionary relationship so that every group shares a common ancestor
Binomial System
Universal system based on Latin
The first name, known as the generic name, denotes the genus to which the organism belongs to (equivalent to someone’s last name)
The second name, known as the specific name, denotes the species to which the organisms belongs to. This name is unique to the species (Equivalent to someone’s first name)
Rules of the Binomial System
The names are printed in italics (or underlined if handwritten) as they are scientific names
The first letter of the generic name is upper case but the first letter of the specific name is lower case
If the specific name is not known, it can be replaced with ‘sp’
If a subspecies is found, the extra name is added to the binomial species name
e.g. Siberian Tiger = Panthera tigris altaica
where Panthera = large cat
tigris = tiger
altaica = Unique Siberian tigers
|
Rank |
e.g. Tiger |
|
Domain |
Eukarya |
|
Kingdom |
Animalia |
|
Phylum |
Chordia |
|
Class |
Mammalia |
|
Order |
Carnivora |
|
Family |
Felidae |
|
Genus |
Felix |
|
Species |
Tigris |
All members of the same species share the ability to bread among each other to produce fertile offspring