Miller/Tupper: Zoology 11e

Instructor’s Manual

7
Chapter Summary

About 1.4 million species have been identified and named; three-fourths of these species
are animals. Each species is named according to the taxonomic system of Karl von Linnè
(Carolus Linnaeus, 1707–1778). The binomial (genus and species epithet) nomenclature
is universal and follows rules from the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
Taxonomic categories above the species level are based on the idea of shared ancestry.
Currently, the major recognized groups are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order,
family, genus, and species. It should be noted that above the species level, the definitions
of what constitutes a particular taxon are not precise. For example, there are no criteria to
establish that two different families represent the same level of divergence from a
common ancestor or that the time frame for divergence in the two groups is related in any
meaningful way. Typically, when new organisms are discovered, they represent only a
new species. However, sometimes new phyla are identified as was the case with
Cycliophora. The identification of this phyla brings the total number of phyla to 36.

Closely related species are placed in the same genus; closely related genera are placed in
the same family, and so on. Taxon is a general term used to represent a name-bearing
group of organisms at any level of the classification scheme. To decide how closely
related one taxon is to another, biologists compare the characters or traits present across
groups. The traits used may be morphological or molecular, i.e. the DNA and proteins of
presumed related organisms can be compared. The study of the kinds and diversity of
organisms, and the evolutionary relationships between organisms, is called systematics.

Systematic methods have historically relied on phenotypic characteristics to arrange

animals into phylogenetic trees. These methods use computational tools and taxonomic
databases to create the trees. More recently however, molecular biological techniques
have been used to aid these efforts. Scientists can now study DNA, multiple types of
RNA, and proteins to evaluate the relatedness of animals. The basic tenet of these studies
is that nucleotide and protein sequences from closely related animals are more similar
than nucleotide and protein sequences from distantly related animals.

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is particularly useful in these studies. rRNA is an ancient

molecule encoded by nuclear DNA. rRNA retains its function in virtually all organisms
and changes only very slowly. This evolutionary conservation is due to the vital role
rRNA plays in protein production.

Another tool involves the study of DNA that does not code for functioning proteins, so
called extragenic DNA. Extragenic DNA can readily change because these changes do
not alter the functioning of necessary proteins. Changes in extragenic DNA can

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accumulate and are studied by multiple DNA analysis techniques such as microsatellites
and amplified fragment length polymorphisms [AFLP].

These techniques consider base sequences, identify corresponding genes, and compare
the genes to other base sequences using computer database strategies. This data then
allows systematists to decide which arrangement of the organisms best explains the data.
The most reliable phylogenetic trees are built when traditional and molecular methods are
each used and allow similar conclusions to be drawn.

Systematics is the arrangement of organisms based on evolutionary relationships

indicated by shared characters. The groups formed in modern systematics are designed to
be monophyletic; monophyletic groups include all organisms that have arisen from a
single ancestral taxon. Polyphyletic groups are avoided as they are artificial groupings
whose members have arisen from separate ancestors. Paraphyletic groups include only
some of the members of a lineage and, therefore, represent incomplete knowledge of the
entire group.

There are 2 main categories of systematics that differ in their goals and approaches:
1. Evolutionary systematics is an approach which looks for similar characters and
homologies to group organisms into taxa. Evolutionary systematists consider how
recent common descent may have occurred and the amount & nature of
evolutionary changes between branch points. To generate their relationships,
evolutionary systematists rely on ancestral (plesiomorphic) and derived
(apomorphic) traits just as phylogenetic systematists use character states. One
major difference between the two groups is that evolutionary systematists weigh
some derived characters more heavily than other derived characters. This is
because some characters form an “adaptive zone” that makes the group unique.
For example, unique characters of birds (wings, feathers) are more important to
phylogenetic tree building than other characteristics that suggest evolutionary
relatedness to dinosaurs and crocodilians.
2. Phylogenetic systematics (cladists) - The goal of cladistics is the generation of
phylogenetic trees with monophyletic groups of organisms. Cladists believe that
homologies of recent origin are most useful in phylogenetic tree generation.
Symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characters) are therefore less useful whereas
synapomorphies (shared derived characters) are more useful in determining
evolutionary relationships. Cladists use ancestral character attributes to organize
organisms into groups. Additionally, cladists look to related groups of organisms,
called outgroups, that are not included in the study group, to demonstrate that a
trait is derived (not ancestral).

Cladograms (phylogenetic tree diagram) depict the sequence of evolution that produced
modern taxa; they represent a hypotheses about evolutionary relationships. A cladogram
may conflict with the results of older evolutionary analyses and naming schemes for
groups of organisms. One example of this is the modern placement of birds (class Aves)
into the class of reptiles (class Reptilia) based on molecular evidence.

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written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
The basic body plans of animals may be analyzed to illustrate evolutionary trends.
The first consideration is body symmetry. Symmetry describes how the parts of an
animal are arranged around a point or an axis. Different forms of symmetry include:
● Animals may be asymmetrical, as in many protists and sponges; such animals
lack complex sensory and locomotory functions.
● Other animals have radial symmetry, as in the cnidarians. The symmetry of adult
echinoderms is called derived, or secondary, radial symmetry.
● Most organisms are bilaterally symmetrical. Bilateral symmetry is correlated with
cephalization, an active life-style, and movement in one direction.

The second consideration is the level of cellular organization.

● Single celled organisms, or those formed from aggregates of single cells, exhibit
the cytoplasmic level of organization; these cells have very little interdependence
and do not form tissues.
● Diploblastic organisms, like the cnidarians, have two tissues layers formed from
the embryonic ectoderm and endoderm. A non-cellular jelly-like layer (mesoglea)
often separates these two cell layers. The cell layers are interdependent.
● Triploblastic organisms have 3 tissue layers derived from the embryonic
ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. Specific body tissues and organs arise from
each distinct layer.

The third consideration is the presence of a body cavity (not the gut cavity, but a cavity
external to the gut). The presence of a body cavity is specifically associated with the
triploblastic animals. Triploblastic organisms often have a body cavity partially or
completely surrounded by mesoderm. The advantages of possessing a body cavity
include more room for organs, more internal surface area, and storage areas. Further
advantages include the possession of a hydrostatic skeleton, aiding in elimination of
reproductive and excretory products and wastes, and an increase in body size.
● Acoelomate triploblasts have no other body cavity than the gut and are often
called the “solid worms.”
● Pseudocoelomates have a body cavity (the pseudocoelom) that is not completely
lined with mesoderm. They are typically worm-like.
● Coelomates have a coelom lined with peritoneum, an adult derivative of
mesoderm.

Copyright © 2019 McGraw-Hill Education.  All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior
written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.