Classification

of Living
Organisms

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 How many organism do
you think have been
identified on earth?

2
 About 8.7 million ( +1.3
million) is the
estimated total number
of species on Earth --
with 6.5 million species
on land and 2.2 million
in oceans.

3
What is Classification?
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–Classification is the
arrangement of organisms into
orderly groups based on their
similarities
–also known as taxonomy
Benefits of Classifying
5

•Accurately & uniformly names

organisms
•Uses Latin and Greek for all names
•Common names are not used
such as starfish & jellyfish
(really aren’t fish
Sea”horse”?
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Confusion when Using
Different Languages for
Names
Early Taxonomists
7

•2000 years ago,

Aristotle was the first
taxonomist

•Aristotle divided
organisms into plants
& animals
Carolus Linnaeus
1707 – 17788

•18th century
taxonomist
•Classified
organisms by
their structure
•Developed
naming system
still used today
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•Described organisms based
on morphology (structure
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and function)
•Developed the modern
system of naming known as
binomial nomenclature
•Two-word name (Genus &
species)
Carolus Linnaeus
 Standardized Naming
•Binomial
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Turdus migratorius
nomenclature
•Genus species
•Italicized in print
•Capitalize genus,
but NOT species
•Underline when
writing

American Robin
Binomial Nomenclature
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Which TWO are more closely related?

Hierarchy-Taxonomic GROUPS
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– Domain BROADEST TAXON

– Kingdom
– Phylum Class
– Order
– Family
– Genus
– Species Most
Specific
 – Dumb
– King
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– Phillip

– Came

– Over

– For

– Gooseberry

– Soup!
15
•THREE DOMAINS
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•Archaea and Bacteria are

unicellular prokaryotes (no nucleus
or membrane-bound organelles)
•Eukarya are more complex and
have a nucleus and membrane-
bound organelles
ARCHAEA
• Kingdom - ARCHAEBACTERIA
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• Live in HARSH environments

• Found in:
– Sewage Treatment Plants (Methanogens)
– Thermal or Volcanic Vents (Thermophiles)
– Hot Springs or Geysers that are acid
– Very salty water (Dead Sea; Great Salt
Lake) - Halophiles
ARCHAEAN
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BACTERIA
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• Kingdom - EUBACTERIA
• Some may cause DISEASE
• Found in ALL HABITATS except harsh
ones
• Important decomposers for environment
• Commercially important in making
cottage cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, etc.
 Live in the intestines of animals
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Domain Eukarya is Divided into
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Kingdoms
• Protista (protozoans, algae…)
• Fungi (mushrooms, yeasts …)
• Plantae (multicellular plants)
• Animalia (multicellular animals)
–
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Protista

•Some are
multicellular
•Most are unicellular
•Some are
autotrophic, while
others are
heterotrophic
•Aquatic
Fungi
• Multicellular,
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except yeast
• Absorptive
heterotrophs
(digest food
outside their
body & then
absorb it)
• Cell walls made
of chitin
 24
Plantae
•Multicellular
•Autotrophic
•Absorb sunlight to
make glucose –
Photosynthesis
•Cell walls made of
cellulose
25
Animalia
• Multicellular
• Ingestive
heterotrophs
(consume food
& digest it
inside their
bodies)
• Feed on plants
or animals
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Taxons
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• Most genera contain a number

of similar species
• The genus Homo is an
exception (only contains
modern humans)
• Classification is based on
evolutionary relationships
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Cladogram
– Diagram
29 showing how organisms are related based on
shared, derived characteristics such as feathers, hair,
or scales
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Primate
Cladogram
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Dichotomous Keying

• Used to identify organisms

• Characteristics given in pairs
• Read both characteristics and
either go to another set of
characteristics OR identify
the organism
 Example of Dichotomous Key
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–1a Tentacles present – Go to 2

–1b Tentacles absent – Go to 3
–2a Eight Tentacles – Octopus
–2b More than 8 tentacles – 3
–3a Tentacles hang down – go to 4
–3b Tentacles upright–Sea Anemone
–4a Balloon-shaped body–Jellyfish
–4b Body NOT balloon-shaped - 5