Taxonomy is the method by which biologist organize living things into groups

Taxa is the group of organisms in taxonomy

Aristotle created a classification system called the great chain of being.

The term species was used to refer to a particular type of organism. The term Genus was
used to refer to a more general grouping of organisms that share certain traits.

The most influential early classification system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus “Father
of Taxonomy”. He divided all nature into 3 kingdoms:
Animal
Vegetable
Mineral.

The taxa are:

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

In Binomial Nomenclature The two words in the name are the genus name and the
Species name. Example: Homo sapiens

Examples of added taxa include:

Subphylum
Superfamily
Domain

Phylogenetic classification

Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a group of genetically related organisms. A

phylogeny is usually represented by a tree diagram called a phylogenetic tree.

The most common method of incorporating information into phylogenetic trees is called
cladistics. Cladistics depicts hypotheses about how organisms are related, based on traits
if ancestor and descendent species

A diagram showing evolutionary relationships within one or more clades is called a

cladogram.
Traits inherited form a common ancestor are called ancestral traits. Traits that evolved
since two groups shared a common ancestor called derived traits.

A classification of organisms on the basis of such relationships is called a phylogenetic

classification.

Phylogenetic classification
1. Treats all levels of a cladogram as equivalent.
2. Places no limit on the number of levels in a cladogram
3. Primary goal is to show the process of evolution
4. It is limited to organisms that are related by ancestry.
5. Does not include a method for making species,

Linnean classification
1. Treat each taxa uniquely and has a special name or each.
2. Has fixed numbers and types of taxa.
3. Primary goal is to group species based on similarities in physical traits.
4. Can include any organisms without regard to ancestry
5. Has a method for giving unique names to species