RHOW TO CLASSIFY? Read the passage and answer the questions which follow.

It has been suggested that only 1 in 10 of the plant and animal species in the world have been
described and classified. Hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of new species are discovered and
described every year.
When a new organism is discovered, it is given a binomial. Taxonomists attempt to describe its
morphological characteristics, so that other biologists will be able to recognize it, and distinguish
it from other similar organisms. Further studies, however, may be required before it can finally
be decided whether the organism is a truly new species, or simply a morphological variant of a
species which is already known and named.
A large majority of known species, and of the new ones being discovered, are insects. Of these,
the beetles make up by far the largest group; one on four of all known species are beetles. In one
study in a Panamanian rain forest, it was found that nine individuals of the tree Luehea
seemannii had 1200 species of beetles living on them, of which 163 species were estimated to be
found only on that species of tree. As the number of tropical rain forest species is about 50,000, it
was calculated that there could be 8,150,000 different species of beetles found on those trees.
Simply describing large numbers of species would produce an unmanageable list. To handle such
large quantities of data, taxonomists must classify species. The earliest systems of classification
were artificial. Plants, for example, can be classified as edible, medicinal or poisonous. Modern
classification systems now attempt to classify organisms in a hierarchical, phylogenetic manner.
1. Define the following terms:
a. binomial (line 4);
Binomial means having two names, one being the genus name and the other for the
species
b. hierarchical (line 18);
Hierarchical means its organized in a manner that each level subordinates the one above.

2. When a new organism is discovered, further studies may be required before it can finally be
decided if it is a new species. Suggest what these studies might be. (Line 6)
These studies might the behavior of the species in the wild ,their body. DNA, their anatomy

10

15

3. In what way is a phylogenetic classification system better than an artificial one?

It gives more information that an artificial one, the plant identification is easier. It can be
change as knowledge is collected
4. a. In the Panamanian rain forest study, what assumptions have been made in calculating that
there may be 8,150,000 different species of beetles living on rain forest trees? (Lines 13-14)
That only in one tree 163 species where found. There are as much new species in one tree as
another
b. Suggest one way in which this study could realistically be extended to give a more
reliable estimate of the number of beetle species in the rain forest.
To get more data rather than estimate it