Classification of

Organisms
Mincer/Scully
 Why Classify?
• To make it easier to study life!
• Taxonomy- the assigning of a
universally accepted name to a
species.
• Binomial nomenclature- An
organism’s classification is based on
its Genus and species names. The
Genus is ALWAYS capitalized, and the
species name is NEVER capitalized.
– E.g. Homo sapiens (humans), Odocoileus
virginianus (Whitetailed deer)
 Linnaeus
• We use a system today that was originally
created by Carl Linnaeus.
• Linnaeus- (1707-1778) A botanist who
created a classification system of
organisms based on their physical
similarities with each other.
• Originally, Linnaeus only had two
Kingdoms, or major categories-Plant and
Animal.
 Linnaean System
• King Phillip Came Over For
Grasshopper Soup
• Kingdom
– Phylum
• Class
– Order
» Family
» Genus
» Species
 Linnaeus vs. Modern
Classification
• Linnaeus • Modern
– 2 Kingdoms – 5 or 6 kingdoms
– Based on physical – Based on physical
similarities similarities AND
– Uses only biologists genetic similarities
observations and – Uses observations,
knowledge of knowledge of
organisms organisms,
molecular clocks,
and other genetic
techniques
 Modern Classification
• Five Kingdom System: Older system,
lumps all prokaryotic species into one
kingdom: Monera
Animal Plant Protist Fungi Monera
Six Kingdom Classification
• Keeps Animal, Plant, Fungi and
Protista, and splits Monera into two
Kingdoms:
– Eubacteria-normal everyday prokaryotes
found on Earth
– Archeabacteria- prokaryotes that are
only found in extreme environmental
conditions, like in a salty lake, or in
extreme temperatures; also called
extremophiles.
Three Domains: Six Kingdoms
• Eukarya • Bacteria • Archea
– Animal – Eubacteria – Archeabacteria
– Plant • Peptidoglycan • No
in the cell peptidoglycan
– Fungi walls in the cell walls
– Protista
Prokaryotic Prokaryotic
All have single celled single celled
organisms organisms organisms that
made of live in extreme
eukaryotic environments
cells
 An Example of Classification
• The Leopard: Panthera pardus
 Fungi
• All members are heterotrophic (they
have to eat other organisms for their
food)
• Most are multicellular, and secrete
digestive enzymes into their food
source, then absorb the smaller food
molecules
• Mushrooms are most common
 Protista
• “Junk” drawer Kingdom
• Mostly unicellular eukaryotic organisms,
but some multicellular, like kelp.
• VERY diverse array of organisms, from
diatoms to algae.
• Some are autotrophs (make own food)
and some are heterotrophs.
 Dichotomous Keys
• In the field, biologists use dichotomous
keys to identify organisms.
• Dichotomous key-A chart that identifies
organisms based on their characteristics.
Its used by excluding organisms based
on their OBSERVABLE features.