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What is classification?
Classification is the
arrangement of organisms into
groups of various sizes on the
basis of shared features.

Taxonomy is a form of
classification that focuses on
physical similarities between
different species, for ease of
naming and identification.

Phylogeny is the classification of

organisms by these evolutionary
relationships, so that every group
shares a common ancestor.

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Choosing taxa

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Linnaean taxonomy
There are many different, and equally valid, ways of
classifying organisms by shared features.
It is important to be able to
choose key features and ignore
others. For instance, many
insects and birds are capable of
winged flight, but the two groups
are otherwise very different.

The first scientist to introduce a

formal system of taxonomy was
Carl Linnaeus. Linnaean
taxonomy is still the basis of the
systems we use today.

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History of classification

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The taxonomic hierarchy

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Kingdom Plantae
The main characteristic feature of individuals in the plant
kingdom is their ability to manufacture their own sugars from
simple molecules by photosynthesis. They are autotrophs.

Their other main defining feature

is the cellulose cell wall found in
every cell.

There are an estimated 350,000

species of plants, which include
trees, herbs, bushes, grasses,
vines, ferns and mosses.

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Kingdom Animalia
Members of the animal kingdom are multi-cellular
heterotrophs – they are dependent on other organisms for
food.

All animals, except sponges, have

nervous and muscular systems,
enabling them to react quickly to
environmental stimuli. This means
most animals are motile – they can
move spontaneously and
voluntarily.

The animal kingdom contains most

multi-cellular organisms and is the
most diverse of all the kingdoms.

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Kingdom Fungi
Fungi are eukaryotic heterotrophic organisms that have
a chitin cell wall. Some grow as single cells but the
majority are multicellular.

Reproduction usually occurs

via spores, often produced
by specialized fruiting bodies.
This is the sexual phase of a
fungal life cycle and is the
most visible – mushrooms, for
example, are fruiting bodies.

The vegetative part of a fungus consists of a mass of thread-

like structures called mycelium, which often extends
underground and can reach a massive size.

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Kingdom Protista
Protists are a group of
eukaryotic organisms that do
not fit into other kingdoms.

As such, they do not have

much in common, apart from
having relatively simple
organisations. They are
unicellular, or multicellular but
with unspecialized cells.

Some groups resemble other

kingdoms. The protophyta
resemble plants, and protozoa
resemble animals.

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Kingdom Monera
Monera are bacteria and
other unicellular organisms
whose genetic material is
loose in the cell. They form
one kingdom in the five-
kingdom system and were
previously called Prokarya.

Monera have been subdivided into the domains Eubacteria

and Archaebacteria based upon molecular phylogenetics,
as well as into kingdoms in the six-kingdom system.

Archaebacteria were initially thought to only live in extreme

environments (e.g. hot sulfur springs) but have now been
discovered in all major habitats.

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Taxonomic rankings

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What is phylogeny?
When species are grouped according to shared
characteristics, the resulting taxonomy will often reflect their
evolutionary relationships.

Sometimes, however, a superficial

resemblance arises in species from
different branches of the evolutionary
tree. This can happen if two species
move into similar ecological niches,
or if one is mimicking another. Some
species may also appear dissimilar
when they are in fact closely related.

Phylogeny seeks to classify organisms according to their

true families, and avoid this sort of confusion.

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Drawing an evolutionary tree

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Phylogeny in practice
The key to phylogenetic classification is looking for the
sorts of common features that must be due to common
ancestors, and not to evolutionary pressure.

Thus, features that share a

purpose, such as a
streamlined body shape for
swimming, are not useful,
whereas useless features
are likely to be an accident
that has arisen only once.

For this reason, a very good indicator of relatedness is the

similarity of sections of non-coding DNA. Much of phylogeny
is conducted using molecular systematics.

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Molecular systematics

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Understanding phylogeny

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What is a species?
It can seem obvious when two individuals are of different
species, e.g. the lion and the tiger. What about the Bengal
tiger and the Siberian tiger – are these different species?

If two populations are geographically

isolated, it can be difficult to tell if
they are capable of interbreeding to
produce fertile offspring. This is one
aspect of the species problem.

Similarly, the capacity to interbreed

cannot be tested in animals that are
extinct, such as the dinosaurs. To
overcome this problem, other
definitions of a species are needed.

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Defining a species
The biological species concept is the most common
definition of a species. It defines a species as a set of
individuals who can reproduce to produce fertile offspring.
As well as the problem of geographical separation, another
disadvantage of this definition is that it only applies to
organisms that reproduce sexually.
The phylogenetic species
concept defines a species by its
evolutionary lineage. Where two
lines diverge sufficiently they are
called separate species. A
problem with this definition is
deciding what constitutes
sufficient divergence.

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Binomial naming
When a new species is identified, it is always given a
binomial name. This is a name with two parts, such as
Panthera tigris for the tiger.
The first part indicates the genus to
which the organism belongs. The
genus Panthera includes other ‘big
cats’ such as the lion and the leopard.
The second word is the species to
which the organism belongs. This part
of the name is never used on its own.
If a subspecies is identified, an extra name is added to the
binomial species name. For instance, the Siberian tiger is
known as Panthera tigris altaica.

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Using a dichotomous key

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Understanding species concepts

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Glossary

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What’s the keyword?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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