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Lesson 2 Classification and Taxonomic Tools

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25 views21 pages

Lesson 2 Classification and Taxonomic Tools

Uploaded by

Mikizo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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2.

1 CLASSIFICATION AND TAXONOMIC TOOLS

The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus originally invented


the binomial system to help him consistently name plants
he identified. The system was eventually adopted by other
scientists and remains to the accepted naming system for
species. Though species may have many common names to
avoid confusion scientists always use the
scientific/binomial name.
Can you guess how many species exist?
Classification
Why is it important that
things should be organised?

Classification is needed
because of the immense
diversity of species.

Classification is the
process of organizing and
categorizing species based
on their similarities and
differences
Hierarchy of classification
Organisms classified from most general group, kingdom, down to most
specific, species

King Philip called out for good soup


Naming Species
• The binomial nomenclature was first
developed by Carolus Linnaeus.
• The binomial system of naming species is an
internationally agreed system in which the
scientific name of an organism is made up of
two parts showing the genus and species

This allows it to be
understood all over the world
as the scientific name is
universal
Naming Species
• The first name is the genus, the second name is the species
• The genus name is given an initial capital letter; the species name is lower case;
• both genus and species should be either italicized or underlined.
• Species in the same genus have similar traits.
• Organisms that share similar features have the same genus name
• All Panthera (Big Cats) can roar but cannot purr

Genus species Genus species Genus species

Panthera leo Panthera tigris Panthera pardus


2.1.3 Classification of organisms allows for efficient identification and prediction of characteristics.
2.1.3 Classification of organisms allows for efficient identification and prediction of characteristics.
Classification
• Taxonomists use a variety of tools to identify an organism.
– Identification in this context means determining the
species of an individual organism.
• Tools include dichotomous keys, comparison of specimens
with reference to collections by taxonomists, and
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) surveys
Comparison of specimens with reference
collections
• Taxonomist can
compare unknown “New species of legless
species with well- amphibian discovered in remote
Cambodian rainforest”
documented
reference collections
• These reference
collections contain a
large number of
similar organisms that
have already been http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-17/new-species-of-legless-
amphibian-found-in-cambodia/
identified and 6022048
Classification
Appearances can be deceptive and subjective too
Is this a Lizard or snake?
DNA Survey
• This method involves comparing the DNA sequences of the
specimen with known sequences from a very large number of
species stored in very large computer databases.
• It provides precise and more reliable identification, especially for
closely related species
• A comparison of the human genetic code with that of other
organisms shows that chimpanzees are nearly genetically identical
(differs by less than 1.2%) whereas the mouse differs by ≈15%.

Genetic code of chimps and gorillas is almost identical to humans

MAN CCAAGGTCACGACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCACGACTGTTGAAC
MPANZEE CCAAGGTCACGACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCA TGACTGTTGAACG
RILLA CCAAGGTCACAACTACTCCAATTGTCACAACTGTTCCAACCGTCACGACTGTTGAAC
USE CCAGGGTCACAACTACTCGTATTGTCATTACTGTTCCGATCGTCATGACAGTTGGACG
ST CGTGCCAGTGAACTACTCGTATTGTCATTGGTTACTGGATCGTCATCCTAGTTGGAC
DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
• Dichotomous keys are used to identify unfamiliar
organisms based on their characteristics.
• They simplify the process of identification.
• Each key is made up of pairs of contrasting features
(dichotomous means two branches), starting with
quite general characteristics and progressing to
more specific ones.
• By following the key and making appropriate
choices it is possible to identify the organism
correctly.
DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
Practice
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