Taxonomy Definition

Taxonomy is the branch of biology that classifies all living things. It was developed by the Swedish
botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who lived during the 18th Century, and his system of classification is still used
today. Linnaeus invented binomial nomenclature, the system of giving each type of organism a genus and
species name. He also developed a classification system called the taxonomic hierarchy, which today has
eight ranks from general to specific: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
The Taxonomic Hierarchy

A taxon (plural: taxa) is a group of organisms that are classified as a unit. This can be specific or general.
For example, we could say that all humans are a taxon at the species level since they are all the same
species, but we could also say that humans along with all other primates are a taxon at the order level,
since they all belong to the order Primates. Species and orders are both examples of taxonomic ranks,
which are relative levels of grouping organisms in a taxonomic hierarchy. The following is a brief
description of the taxonomic ranks that make up the taxonomic hierarchy.

Domain

A domain is the highest (most general) rank of organisms. Linnaeus did invent some of the taxonomic
ranks, but he did not invent the domain rank, which is relatively new. The term domain wasn’t used until
1990, over 250 years after Linnaeus developed his classification system in 1735. The three domains of
life are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryota. Archaea are single-celled organisms similar to bacteria; some
archaea live in extreme environments, but others live in mild ones. Eukaryota, or every living thing on
earth that is not a bacterium or archaeon, is more closely related to the domain Archaea than to Bacteria.
Taxonomic ranks are always capitalized, except for species. This allows people to differentiate between
bacteria (the organisms; could refer to all bacteria or just two specific bacteria) and Bacteria (the domain,
which includes all bacteria).

Kingdom

Before domains were introduced, kingdom was the highest taxonomic rank. In the past, the different
kingdoms were Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea, and Bacteria (Archaea and Bacteria were
sometimes grouped into one kingdom, Monera). However, some of these groupings, such as Protista, are
not very accurate. Protista includes all eukaryotic organisms that are not animals, plants, or fungi, but
some of these organisms are not very closely related to one another. There is no set agreement on the
kingdom classification, and some researchers have abandoned it altogether. Currently, it continues to be
revised; in 2015 researchers suggested splitting Protista into two new kingdoms, Protozoa and
Chromista.
Phylum

Phylum (plural: phyla) is the next rank after kingdom; it is more specific than kingdom, but less specific
than class. There are 35 phyla in the kingdom Animalia, including Chordata (all organisms with a dorsal
nerve cord), Porifera (sponges), and Arthropoda (arthropods).

Class

Class was the most general rank proposed by Linnaeus; phyla were not introduced until the 19th Century.
There are 108 different classes in the kingdom Animalia, including Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds),
and Reptilia (reptiles), among many others. The classes of Animalia that Linnaeus proposed are similar to
the ones used today, but Linnaeus’ classes of plants were based on attributes like the arrangement of
flowers rather than relatedness. Today’s classes of plants are different than the ones Linnaeus used, and
classes are not frequently used in botany.

Order

Order is more specific than class. Some of Linnaeus’ orders are still used today, such as Lepidoptera (the
order of butterflies and moths). There are between 19-26 orders of Mammalia, depending on how
organisms are classified—sources differ. Some orders of Mammalia are Primates, Cetaceans (whales,
dolphins, and porpoises), Carnivora (large carnivores/omnivores), and Chiroptera (bats).

Family

Family is, in turn, more specific. Some families in the order Carnivora, for example, are Canidae (dogs,
wolves, foxes), Felidae (cats), Mephitidae (skunks), and Ursidae (bears). There are 12 total families in the
order Carnivora.

Genus

Genus (plural: genera) is even more specific than family. It is the first part of an organism’s scientific
name using binomial nomenclature; the second part is the species name. An organism’s scientific name
is always italicized, and the genus name is capitalized while the species name is not. Genus and species
are the only taxonomic ranks that are italicized. The scientific name for humans is Homo
sapiens. Homo is the genus name, while sapiens is the species name. All other species in the
genus Homo are extinct. Some were ancestral to humans, such as Homo erectus. Others lived at the
same time, were closely related, and interbred with Homo sapiens, such as Homo neanderthalensis, the
Neanderthals.

Species

Species is the most specific major taxonomic rank; species are sometimes divided into subspecies, but
not all species have multiple forms that are different enough to be called subspecies. There are an
estimated 8.7 million different species of organisms on Earth, but the vast majority have yet to be
discovered and categorized. While each genus name is unique, the same species names can be used for
different organisms. For example, Ursus americanus is the American black bear, while Bufo
americanus is the American toad. The species name is always italicized, but never capitalized. It is the
only taxonomic rank that is not capitalized. In scientific articles where the species name is used many
times, it is abbreviated after the first full use by using just the first letter of the genus name along with the
full species name. Homo sapiens is abbreviated to H. sapiens.

Examples of Taxonomy

The scientific classification of humans is as follows:

 Domain: Eukaryota
 Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Mammalia
 Order: Primates
 Family: Hominidae
 Genus: Homo
 Species: sapiens
 TAXONOMY

Taxonomy is the practice of identifying different organisms, classifying them into categories, and naming

them. All organisms, both living and extinct, are classified into distinct groups with other similar organisms

and given a scientific name.

The classification of organisms has various hierarchical categories. Categories gradually shift from being

very broad and including many different organisms to very specific and identifying single species.
TAXONOMIC CATEGORIES

There are eight distinct taxonomic categories. These are: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,

Family, Genus, and Species.

With each step down in classification, organisms are split into more and more specific groups.

For example, all of the animals in the Kingdom Animalia are split into multiple phyla (plural of phylum). All

of the animals in the phylum Chordata are split into multiple classes such as mammals, reptiles, and

amphibians.

The broadest category splits all organisms into three groups called ‘Domains’. The three Domains of life

are Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryota.

KINGDOM

For a long time, all life was separated into five or six kingdoms. These included kingdoms such as

animals, plants, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria.

With new genetic data, we now know that some protists are more closely related to animals, plants, and

fungi than they are to other protists. This suggests that the protist kingdom could be separated into

multiple kingdoms. Thoughts are similar for the bacteria and archaea kingdoms.
PHYLUM

A phylum (plural phyla) is still a very broad classification but it splits kingdoms into multiple groups. An

example of phyla from the animal kingdom is Arthropoda which includes all insects, spiders, crustaceans,

and more. All vertebrate animals belong to one phylum called ‘Chordata’. Invertebrates are separated into

many different phyla.

CLASS

A class is the next level down. As mentioned earlier some classes from the phylum Chordata include

mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Arthropod classes include the likes of insects and arachnids

(spiders, mites, and scorpions).

ORDER AND FAMILY

From class, organisms are placed into an Order and then a Family. Using grasses as an example from

the plant kingdom, they belong to the order Poales and the family Poaceae.
GENUS AND SPECIES

The final two categories are genus and species. The genus and species that an organism belongs to are

how an organism receives its scientific name. This naming system is called ‘binomial nomenclature’ and

was invented by a brilliant biologist named Carl Linnaeus.

An identified species is placed into a specific group in each of these categories. For example, the

taxonomic classification of humans is:

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Family: Hominidae

Genus: Homo

Species: Homo sapiens

To remember the order of the taxonomic hierarchy from domain to species, people often use mnemonics

to make it easier. The phrase that I was taught and still use to help me remember is ‘King Phillip Came

Over From Germany Swimming’. There are many different phrases people have come up with. If you’re

not keen on the sentence I use and want another one, take a look at these taxonomy mnemonics.
CARL LINNAEUS

Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish naturalist from the 18th century and is considered the father of taxonomy. It

was Linnaeus who first began to separate organisms into hierarchical categories. He also developed the

system that we use to name new species called ‘binomial nomenclature’. Linnaeus is credited with

identifying over 10,000 different plant and animal species in his lifetime, more than any other biologist.
SYSTEMA NATURAE

When Linnaeus developed his system of hierarchical categories, he called it ‘Systema Naturae’. It

contained three kingdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species. We have since added two more

categories – domains and phyla.

Linnaeus’s original classification had three kingdoms – animals, plants, and minerals (natural, non-living

elements). We now only use this system for classifying organisms and we have since separated all of life

into more than two kingdoms.

BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE

Binomial nomenclature is the method that we use to uniquely name every different organism on Earth,

living or extinct. All organisms have a scientific name that includes two Latin words.

The two words are made from the names of the genus the species belongs to and a second word to

separate each of the species within the same genus. The second word is known as the ‘specific epithet’.

Hence, the scientific names of all organisms are made from the name of their genus and a specific

epithet.

For example, the scientific name given to humans includes their genus Homo and the specific

epithet sapiens. The overall name is Homo sapiens.

Scientific names are also written in either italics or underlined.

Taxonomy is not a perfect science and, as you will find out, there is a lot of disagreement and uncertainty

about the structure of taxonomic classifications. In general, however, taxonomy is a great way to quickly

learn about how an organism slots into the tree of life.

LICHEN

A lichen, or lichenized fungus, is actually two organisms functioning as a single, stable

unit. Lichens comprise a fungus living in a symbiotic relationship with an alga or
cyanobacterium (or both in some instances). There are about 17,000 species of lichen
worldwide. ichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two
separate organisms, a fungus and an alga. The dominant partner is the fungus,
which gives the lichen the majority of its characteristics, from its thallus shape to
its fruiting bodies. The alga can be either a green alga or a blue-green alga,
otherwise known as cyanobacteria. Many lichens will have both types of algae.

What are fungi?

Sclerotia veratri, a cup fungus. These types of fungi are the most common
fungal partner in lichen biology. Photo by Chris Wagner, U.S. Forest
Service.

Fungi are a diverse group of organisms that are in

their own kingdom (Fungi), separate from plants.
Fungi do not contain chlorophyll or any other means
of producing their own food so they rely on other organisms for nutrition. Fungi are
widely known for their role in the decomposition of organic matter. They are also
necessary for the survival of the ecosystem around them, such as partnering with
plants and trees for nutrients and survival.

Lichens are another such partnership for fungi to gain nutrients from another
organism. The algal partner photosynthesizes and provides food for the fungus, so
it can grow and spread.

What are algae?

Peltigera britannica, dog-pelt lichen. Notice the bright green surface that is green algae showing through. Look
closely and you will see dark spots. Those spots are pockets of cyanobacteria. Photo by Karen Dillman, U.S. Forest
Service.

Algae are in another kingdom (Protista) separate from plants and fungi. There are
several types of algae: green, brown, red, gold. They can survive in salt water and
in freshwater on their own, and in any environment when part of a lichen
relationship.

Although cyanobacteria are called blue-green algae, they are actually bacteria, and
are part of the bacteria kingdom, Monera. The "blue" in the common name refers to
the fact that they need to live in water, and "green algae" refers to their
photosynthetic abilities, like green algae.