Principles of

Classification of
Living Things
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
• Classification is the systematic grouping of organisms
based on structural, functional similarities or
evolutionary history.

• Taxonomy is the science of classifying living things.

Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things

• Carolus Linnaeus (Carl Linnaeus),

Swedish botanist known as the “Father
of Taxonomy.”
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things

• Species are given a unique two-word

name written in Latin, which includes
the genus (capitalized and italics) and
species name.

• Example: human (Homo sapiens) and

dog (Canis familiaris)
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification
of Living Things

• In Linnaean hierarchy, all

organisms are placed in
rank.

• Taxon is a group, of one or

more organisms, of equal
rank within the hierarchical
and phylogenetic
organization.
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
• The three-domain (Carl Woese) system biological
classification of life (colon)
• Archaea
• Bacteria
• Eukaryote
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification
of Living Things

• The current
groupings is from
largest to smallest
are: kingdom, phylum,
class, order, family,
genus, and species.
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
• Two-kingdom
classification system
• Animalia
• Plantae
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification of
Living Things
• Three-kingdom classification
system
• A taxonomist named Ernst Hackel made
a third kingdom Protista
• Animalia, Plantae, and Protista
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
• Five-kingdom classification system
• Robert Whittaker introduced the five-kingdom classification
system based on the following:
• The system gave levels to the cellular organization, including
prokaryotic, unicellular eukaryotic, and multicellular eukaryotic.
• Based on modes of nutrition, that is photosynthesis, absorption,
and ingestion.
• Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification
of Living Things

Kingdom Animalia
• Almost all the animals
are included in the
kingdom of Animalia.
• These animals ingest
food and digest it with
the help of particular
organs.
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
Kingdom Plantae
• This kingdom includes eukaryotic, multicellular
autotrophs meaning all plants.
• This kingdom includes multicellular and
eukaryotic photosynthesis plants.
 Kingdom Monera
Domain and The organisms which are made of
Kingdom Scheme prokaryotic cells are included in the
of Classification of kingdom Monera. They are
Living Things unicellular, although some types
form clusters, colonies, and change
of cell.
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of
Classification of Living
Things

Kingdom Fungi
• The organisms included in
kingdom fungi have the
absorptive nutritional
mode.
• They are eukaryotic,
multicellular heterotrophs,
for example, mushrooms.
• Most of the fungi are
decomposers.
Domain and Kingdom Scheme
of Classification of Living
Things
Kingdom Protozoa
• The kingdom protozoa include
single-celled eukaryotic organisms
free-living for parasites, meaning
they feed on microorganisms,
debris, and organic tissues (organic
matter).
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of
Classification of Living
Things

• Main criteria
• cell structure
• body organization
• mode of nutrition
• Reproduction
• phylogenetic
relationships
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
• Archaebacteria in a separate division within the
kingdom Monera, recognized as a 6th kingdom.

• Systematists have devised a classification level higher

than a kingdom, called a domain to accommodate it.
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification of
Living Things
Phylum
• The taxonomic definition of phylum
(plural: phyla) is more precise than the
kingdom and less particular than the
class level.
• The phylum was added to the
taxonomic classification in the 19th
century.
• Some of the notable phyla of animals
include Chordata (includes organisms
with nerve cord), Arthropoda
(arthropods), and Porifera (sponges).
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
Class
• A more specific taxonomic rank
than phylum is the class.
• The class was integrated into the
taxonomy (biology) by the
Linnaean system and was the
most widespread taxa used up till
now.
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification of
Living Things

Order
• Next to class is the
order.
• It is a more specific
taxonomic rank.
• Some Linnaean orders
are still used in the
present taxonomies.
Domain and Kingdom
Scheme of Classification
of Living Things

Family
• The taxonomic family is more
specific than the order.
• Several examples of Order
Carnivora families are Canidae
(dogs, foxes, or wolves),
Mephitidae (skunks), and Felidae
(cats).
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things
Genus
• A more specified taxonomic rank in the
taxonomy hierarchy is the genus (plural:
Genera).
• The genus includes the scientific names
of organisms (species name and genus
name).
Domain and Kingdom Scheme of
Classification of Living Things

Species
• The species is the most specified rank
in the taxonomy hierarchy.
Dichotomous Key

• A tool that allows the user to determine the identity of

items in the natural world, such as trees, wildflowers,
mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish.
Dichotomous Key

• Dichotomous means ‘divided into two parts’, as each

question about an organism has two choices, through
a process of answering yes or no questions.
Dichotomous Key

• Importance of dichotomous key:

• Identifying and categorizing organisms
• Helping students easily understand harder scientific
concepts
• Organizing large amounts of information to make
identification of an organism much easier.
• Major role of classification:
• To have techniques in place to identify and classify the organism.
• To create a dichotomous key, both qualitative (i.e. physical
attributes such as how the organism looks, what color it is, etc.)
and quantitative (i.e. the number of legs, weight, height, etc.)
factors are considered.
• Done in both a graphical (as a branching flowchart) or written
format (series of paired statements organized sequentially)
based from a set of observable characteristics.