Taxonomy

Taxonomy Definition

Taxonomy is the branch of biology that classifies all living things. It was developed by the Swedish

botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who lived during the 18th Century, and his system of classification is still used

today. Linnaeus invented binomial nomenclature, the system of giving each type

of organism a genus and species name. He also developed a classification system called the taxonomic

hierarchy, which today has eight ranks from general to specific: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order,

family, genus, and species.

The Taxonomic Hierarchy

A taxon (plural: taxa) is a group of organisms that are classified as a unit. This can be specific or general.

For example, we could say that all humans are a taxon at the species level since they are all the same

species, but we could also say that humans along with all other primates are a taxon at the order level,

since they all belong to the order Primates. Species and orders are both examples of taxonomic ranks,

which are relative levels of grouping organisms in a taxonomic hierarchy. The following is a brief

description of the taxonomic ranks that make up the taxonomic hierarchy.

Domain

A domain is the highest (most general) rank of organisms. Linnaeus did invent some of the taxonomic

ranks, but he did not invent the domain rank, which is relatively new. The term domain wasn’t used until

1990, over 250 years after Linnaeus developed his classification system in 1735. The three domains of

life are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota. Archaea are single-celled organisms similar to bacteria; some

archaea live in extreme environments, but others live in mild ones. Eukaryota, or every living thing on

earth that is not a bacterium or archaeon, is more closely related to the domain Archaea than to Bacteria.
Taxonomic ranks are always capitalized, except for species. This allows people to differentiate between

bacteria (the organisms; could refer to all bacteria or just two specific bacteria) and Bacteria (the domain,

which includes all bacteria).

Kingdom

Before domains were introduced, kingdom was the highest taxonomic rank. In the past, the different

kingdoms were Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea, and Bacteria (Archaea and Bacteria were

sometimes grouped into one kingdom, Monera). However, some of these groupings, such as Protista, are

not very accurate. Protista includes all eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but

some of these organisms are not very closely related to one another. There is no set agreement on the

kingdom classification, and some researchers have abandoned it altogether. Currently, it continues to be

revised; in 2015 researchers suggested splitting Protista into two new kingdoms, Protozoa and Chromista.

Phylum

Phylum (plural: phyla) is the next rank after kingdom; it is more specific than kingdom, but less specific

than class. There are 35 phyla in the kingdom Animalia, including Chordata (all organisms with a dorsal

nerve cord), Porifera (sponges), and Arthropoda (arthropods).

Class

Class was the most general rank proposed by Linnaeus; phyla were not introduced until the 19th Century.

There are 108 different classes in the kingdom Animalia, including Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds),

and Reptilia (reptiles), among many others. The classes of Animalia that Linnaeus proposed are similar to

the ones used today, but Linnaeus’ classes of plants were based on attributes like the arrangement of

flowers rather than relatedness. Today’s classes of plants are different than the ones Linnaeus used, and

classes are not frequently used in botany.

Order
Order is more specific than class. Some of Linnaeus’ orders are still used today, such as Lepidoptera (the

order of butterflies and moths). There are between 19-26 orders of Mammalia, depending on how

organisms are classified—sources differ. Some orders of Mammalia are Primates, Cetaceans (whales,

dolphins, and porpoises), Carnivora (large carnivores/omnivores), and Chiroptera (bats).

Family

Family is, in turn, more specific. Some families in the order Carnivora, for example, are Canidae (dogs,

wolves, foxes), Felidae (cats), Mephitidae (skunks), and Ursidae (bears). There are 12 total families in the

order Carnivora.

Genus

Genus (plural: genera) is even more specific than family. It is the first part of an organism’s scientific

name using binomial nomenclature; the second part is the species name. An organism’s scientific name is

always italicized, and the genus name is capitalized while the species name is not. Genus and species are

the only taxonomic ranks that are italicized. The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens. Homo is

the genus name, while sapiens is the species name. All other species in the genus Homo are extinct. Some

were ancestral to humans, such as Homo erectus. Others lived at the same time, were closely related, and

interbred with Homo sapiens, such as Homo neanderthalensis, the Neanderthals.

Species

Species is the most specific major taxonomic rank; species are sometimes divided into subspecies, but not

all species have multiple forms that are different enough to be called subspecies. There are an estimated

8.7 million different species of organisms on Earth, but the vast majority have yet to be discovered and

categorized. While each genus name is unique, the same species names can be used for different

organisms. For example, Ursus americanus is the American black bear, while Bufo americanus is the

American toad. The species name is always italicized, but never capitalized. It is the only taxonomic rank
that is not capitalized. In scientific articles where the species name is used many times, it is abbreviated

after the first full use by using just the first letter of the genus name along with the full species

name. Homo sapiens is abbreviated to H. sapiens.

Examples of Taxonomy

The scientific classification of humans is as follows:

 Domain: Eukaryota

 Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata

 Class: Mammalia

 Order: Primates

 Family: Hominidae

 Genus: Homo

 Species: sapiens

Another example of taxonomy is the diagram below, which shows the classification of the red

fox, Vulpes vulpes (sometimes the genus and species names are the same, even though these are two

different ranks).
Many mnemonic devices can be used to remember the order of the taxonomic hierarchy, such as “Dear

King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti”.

Example 1 - Tiger

Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)

Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrate)

Class: Mammalia (Mammal)

Order: Carnivora (Carnivore)

Family: Felidae (Cat)

Genus: Panthera

Species: Panthera tigris (Tiger)

Example 2 - Orang-utan

Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)

Phylum: Chordata (Vertebrate)

Class: Mammalia (Mammal)

Order: Primates

Family: Hominidae (Great Apes)

Genus: Pongo

Species: Pongo pygmaeus (Orang-Utan)

Common Name of Plants Scientific Name of Plants
Apple Pyrus malus

Bamboo Bamboosa aridinarifolia

Brinjal Solanum melongena

Banana Musa paradisicum

Black Gram Palsoes Mungo

Banyan Ficus benghalensis

Barley Hordeum vulgare

Black Pepper Piper nigrum

Carrot Daucas carota

Cashew nut Anacardium occidentale

Clove Syzygium aromaticum

Coriander Coriandrum sativum

Cucumber Cucumis sativas

Curry leaf Murraya koenigii

Capsicum Capsicum fruitscence

Chiku Achras sapota

Cotton Gossypium herbaceum

Dragon fruit Hylocereus undutus

Finger millet Eleusine coracana

Green Gram Phaseolies auicus

Guava Psidium guava

Ginger Zingiber officinale

Garlic Allium sativum

Jack fruit Artocarpus integra

Jowar Sorghum Vulgare

Kadamb Anthocephalus indicus

Lemon Citrus limonium

Maize Zea mays

Mango Mangifera indica

Neem Azadhirachta indica

Onion Allium cepa

Orange Citrus aurantium

Pea Pisum sativam

Papaya Carica papaya

Potato Solanum tubersum

Pomegranate Punica granatum

Peacock Flower (Gulmohar) Delonix regia rafin

Purple orchid tree (Kachnar) Bauhinia purpurea

Peepal Ficus religiosa Linn.

Pineapple Ananus sativus

Radish Raphanus sativus

Red maple Acer rubrum

Rice Oryza sativa

Rose Rosa

Soya bean Glycine max

Silver Oak Grevillea robusta

Sandalwood Santalum album

Spinach Lactuca sativa

Sunflower Helianthus annuus

Turmeric Curcuma longa

Tobacco Nicotina tobaccum

Tulsi Ocimum sanctum

Teak Tectona grandis Linn.

Tamarind tree Tamarindus indica

Tomato Lycopersican esculentum

Watermelon Citrullus vulgaris

Wheat Triticum Aestivum

Scientific Names of Common Animals:

Common Name of Animal Scientific Name of Animals

Cat Felis catus

Cobra Elapidae naja

Camel Camelus camelidae

Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus

Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes

Crocodile Crocodilia niloticus

Chameleon Chamaele ontidate

Dog Cannis familiaris

Deer Artiodactyl cervidae

Dolphin Delphinidae delphis

Elephant Proboscidea elephantidae

Frog Anura ranidae

Fox Cannis vulpes

Giraffe Giraffa camalopardalis

Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Goat Capra hircus

Housefly Musca domestica

Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius

Horse Eqqus caballus

Hyena Hyaenidae carnivora

 Kangaroo Macropus macropodidae

Lion Panthera leo

Lizard Sauria lacertidae

Mouse Rodentia muridae

Panther Panthera pardus

Pig Artiodactyla suidae

Porcupine Hystricomorph hystricidae

Rabbit Leporidae cuniculas

Rhinoceros Perrissodanctyl rthinocerotidae

Scorpion Archinida scorpionida

Sea Horse Hippocampus syngnathidae

Squirrel Rodentia sciurus

Tiger Panthera tigris

Zebra Equidae burcheli

Related Biology Terms

  Taxon – A population of organisms that has been grouped together by taxonomists.

 Binomial nomenclature – A two-part system of naming species; species are referred to by

their genus name followed by their species name.

 Taxonomic hierarchy – An ordered group of taxonomic ranks used to classify organisms

from general to specific.

 Taxonomic rank – A level of a group of organisms in a taxonomic hierarchy.

Quiz

1. Which taxonomic rank is more specific than order but less specific than genus?

A. Species

B. Family

C. Class

D. Domain

Answer to Question #1

2. What is the scientific name for humans?

A. Homo habilus

B. Homo erectus

C. Homo sapiens

D. Homo sapiens

Answer to Question #2

3. Why is taxonomic classification used?

A. It allows each species to be uniquely identified.

B. It gives us an idea of how closely two organisms are related.

C. It has been unnecessary to change taxonomy since Linnaeus invented it in the 18 th Century.

D. Choices A and B