Chapter 9 Section 1

 Explain why and how organisms are classified

 List the 8 levels of classification

 Explain scientific names

 Describe how dichotomous keys help in

classifying organisms
  Organization into categories

 Orderly groups based on similar characteristics

http://texaseducator.com/family/jbouyer/lessons/Science/askew/mycourses/diverse.gif
 Usefulness categories (ex: plants that grow in
Bolivia)

 Living and extinct organisms

 Group organisms by the characteristics they

share

 Helps to answer important questions…

 How many known species are there? (~10
million)

 What are the defining characteristics of each

species?

 What are the relationships between these

species?
 Before the 1600’s: 2 groups – plants & animals

 1700’s Carolus Linnaeus founded modern

taxonomy

 Taxonomy: the science of describing,

classifying, and naming living things

 Linnaeus classified according to shape &

structure
 Taxonomists use an 8-level system based on
shared characteristics

 Scientists can hypothesize about relatedness

 Ex: platypus, brown bear, lion, house cat

(related??)
 Have hair
 Mammary glands
 Mammals
  Several characteristics are listed along a line
that points to the right
 Each characteristic is shared by the animals to
the right of it

http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/Zoology/Biologicaldiverstity/Classification/cladogram_1.gif
 Domain (3 main domains)
 Eukarya, Bacteria, Archaea
 Kingdom
 Phylum
 Class
 Order
 Family
 Genus
 Species
 Closely related and can make and produce fertile
offspring
 Kingdom – Animalia
 Phylum – Chordata
 Class – Mammalia
 Order – Carnivora
 Family – Felidae
 Genus – Felis
 Species – Felis domesticus
 2 part names: Tyrannosaurus rex

 1st name is genus: Tyrannosaurus

 Capitalize
 Italicize
 2nd name is species: rex
 Not capitalized

*Names are Latin or Greek

 Special guide to help scientists identify
organisms

 Sequential pairs of descriptive statements

 Only alternative responses for each statement

http://lucidcentral.cbit.uq.edu.au/keys/images/dichotomous.gif
 We are still discovering and classifying new
organisms

 Check out some statistics:

http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8202

 Ex: 1995 Symbion pandora found living on lobster lips!

Did not fit into an existing phylum. Therefore, created
a new phylum: S. pandora
 Why do scientists classify animals?

 What is the basis of modern classification

systems?