Animal taxonomy

Animal Taxonomy

Introduction to Taxonomy

  • Taxonomy is the science that involves categorising and naming organisms based on their biological features and relationships.
  • It was originally developed by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century.
  • The main objective is to describe, classify, and name living organisms.

Hierarchical System of Classification

  • The classifications range from very general, like Kingdom, to very specific, like Species.
  • The order of classification from most general to most specific is as follows: Kingdom, Phylum (or Division for plants), Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
  • The mnemonic King Philip Came Over For Good Soup is a handy way to remember this order.

The Major Kingdoms

  • Currently, the most widely accepted system of classification places lifeforms into the five major Kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Protista, Fungi, and Monera (bacteria and archaea).

Binomial Nomenclature

  • Each species has a two-part Latin or latinized name in a system called binomial nomenclature.
  • The first part is the Genus (which is always capitalised), and the second part is the species (which is never capitalised).
  • An example of this is Homo sapiens, where Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species.

Taxonomic Groups

  • Taxonomic groups are also termed as taxa (singular: taxon).
  • An organism remembers its entire taxonomic hierarchy.
  • These taxa are not equivalent or ranked.

Importance of Taxonomy

  • Taxonomy helps to identify organisms, relate organisms to one another through shared features, and propagate scientific information about these organisms.
  • It plays an integral role in conservation efforts by helping track biodiversity and monitor the health of ecosystems.
  • The naming of organisms also helps in preventing confusion that might be caused due to common names as one organism can have different common names in different regions.

Phylogenetic Trees and Cladistics

  • Phylogenetic trees, or evolutionary trees, are diagrams that represent the evolutionary relationships between different organisms.
  • Cladistics is a method of classification that groups organisms based on shared derived characteristics that can be traced to a group’s most recent common ancestor.
  • These trees and techniques help visualise and understand the evolutionary paths of different species.
  • With advancements in molecular biology, classifications are increasingly based on DNA and protein similarities.
  • The three-domain system, which further categorises the Monera Kingdom into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya, is gaining popularity among taxonomists.
  • This updated system takes into account significant differences in cellular structures and processes between these groups.