Lesson 4A Taxonomy

ANIMAL
TAXONOMY
Classification of living things
Learning Competencies
At the end of the lesson, the learners can:
a. explain how the structural and

developmental characteristics and
relatedness of DNA sequences are
used in classifying living thing;
b. Identify the unique/ distinctive

characteristics of a specific taxon
relative to other taxa
Development of Biological Classification
Early Taxonomists
• As Early 300 BC, Aristotle was the first
taxonomist.
• Aristotle divided organisms into plants
and animals.
• He subdivide them by their habitat
Early Taxonomists
• John Ray, was the first to use latin for
naming.
• His names were very long descriptions
telling everything
Carolus Linnaeus
• 18th century taxonomist.

• Classified organisms by their structure
• Developed naming system still used
today
• Called the Father of ‘’taxonomy’’
Carolus Linnaeus
• Developed the modern system of

naming known as binomial
nomenclature.
• Two- word name ( genus and species)
Standardized Naming
• Binomial nomenclature used

• Genus species
• Capitalize genus but NOT species
• Latin or Greek
• Italicized in print
• Underline when writing
Classification
Groups
• Taxon ( taxa-plural) is a category into which related organism
are placed.
• There is a heirarchy of groups (taxa) from broadest to most
specific
• Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus,
species.
Domain and Kingdom
Classification
Groups
Goals of
taxonomy
• Taxonomy is the science of naming and
classifying organisms
• Morphological, anatomical, and reproductive
features are some of the information necessary
to describe the organisms
How organisms are classified!
1.Phylogenetic Classification
•Genetic relationship
2.Artificial Classification
•Habitats
•Size of their body or leaves, or
color of their flowers or fur.
(Limited usefulness)
Dichotomous Keys
A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine

the identity of items in the natural world based on the items
characteristics.
"Dichotomous" means divided into two parts.
Dichotomous keys always give two distinct choices in each
step, often they are opposites.
Black/white; good/evil; pointed/rounded
How to Construct a
Dichotomous Key
Rules followed in constructing
a Dichotmous Key
Step 1: List down the characteristics

Pay attention to the specimens you are trying to identify with
your dichotomous key. List down the characteristics that you
can notice. For example, say you are trying to classify a group
of animals. You may notice that some have feathers whereas
others have legs, or some have long tails and others don’t.
a Dichotmous Key
Step 2: Organize the characteristics in order

When creating your dichotomous key, you need to start with
the most general characteristics first, before moving to the
more specific ones. So it helps to have identified the more
obvious and less obvious contrasting characteristics among the
specimen before creating your dichotomous key.
a Dichotmous Key
Step 3: Divide the specimens

You can use statements (i.e. has feathers and no feathers)
or questions (does it have feathers?) to divide your
specimens into two groups. The first differentiation should
be made on the most general characteristic.
a Dichotmous Key
Step 4: Divide the specimen even further

Based on the next contrasting characteristic, divide the
specimen further.
Step 5: Draw a dichotomous key diagram

You can either create a text-based dichotomous key or a
graphical one where you can even use images of the
specimen you are trying to identify.
How to use a Dichotomous Key?
Here are creatures we don’t

know!
Lets choose one

Choose only one creature at a time.

•Read steps 1a and 1b
1a. The creature has two eyes. Go to step 2.
1b. The creature has one eye. Go to step 5.
•Decide which statement is true.

•Statement 1b is true.
•Go to Step 5, skipping steps 2-4.

•At 5, you make another dichotomous choice.
5a. The creature has 1 or more antennae.Go to step 6.
5b. The creature has no antennae. Its name is A.

•Statement 5a is true.
•Go to Step 6.
Keep going until you come to a step that gives you
the creature’s name.
6a. The creature has 1 antennae. Go to step 7.
6b. The creature has 2 antennae. Its name is C.

•Statement 6b is true.
•Choose a new creature and start at Step 1a and 1b

again.
•Continue until you find the creature’s name.
•Then find all the creature’s names.
LET’S TRY
NOW…
GROUP TASK
DIRECTION: Construct a Dichotomous Key base on the animals
provided.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
Dolphin shark goat Chicken
Tiger Sheep Leopard whale
lion butterfly moth dog
Spider gold fish Lizard gold fish
Cat bat Monkey bat
caterpillar Group 5 Cheetah horse Group 6 earthworm
sea star whale
camel Crab
Duck ant
anaconda bat
parrot tuna
lion Cow
GUIDED PRACTICE
A. Based on the dichotomous key, identify the animals in the picture.
A. ______________________ F. ______________________
B. ______________________ G. ______________________
C. ______________________ H. ______________________
D. ______________________ I. ______________________
E. ______________________
REFLECTION-ACTION
Modified SQ2R
Topic: __Evolution____
Reference: ____________________________
Summary:
Why do you think Evolution is essential to humans? Give a brief discussion about Evolution .
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Questions:
Write one question you still have in mind about Evolution.
_____________________________________________________________________
Reflection:
What does evolution tell us about life?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Real-life Application:
How does evolutionary theory apply to human development?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 4A Taxonomy

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 4A Taxonomy

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lesson 4A Taxonomy

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ANIMAL

a. explain how the structural and

b. Identify the unique/ distinctive

• 18th century taxonomist.

• Developed the modern system of

• Binomial nomenclature used

A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine

Step 1: List down the characteristics

Step 2: Organize the characteristics in order

Step 3: Divide the specimens

Step 4: Divide the specimen even further

Step 5: Draw a dichotomous key diagram

Here are creatures we don’t

Lets choose one

Choose only one creature at a time.

•Decide which statement is true.

•Go to Step 5, skipping steps 2-4.

•Decide which statement is true.

•Decide which statement is true.

•Choose a new creature and start at Step 1a and 1b

You might also like