Life Sciences 11 – Jan 2020

Chap 18.1 – Class Notes – What is Taxonomy?

Slide 1: Taxonomy (Naming and Grouping); Unit 2B

Slide 3:

Taxonomy is the discipline of classifying organisms. Taxonomists arrange organisms into orderly groups based on their similar

characteristics, traits / evolutionary relationships Taxonomists are scientists that identify & name organisms Taxonomy = Classification

Slide 4&5: Why is a naming system important?

Have you seen a… Florida panther? Cougar? Mountain lion? Catamount? Puma?

Slide 6 & 7: Names for animals in different languages can be confusing …

Slide 8: Benefits of Classifying

• Accurate & uniform – there is only ONE name per organism

• Prevents misnomers

• starfish & jellyfish that aren't really fish

• Uses same language (Latin or some Greek) for all names

Slide 9: Taxonomy is needed to:

1. Organize species into groups (simplifies discussions)

2. Identify new organisms

WWF announces discovery of 157 new species in Southeast Asia

By Lisa Jane Harding, CNN. Wed Dec 12, 2018

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/12/asia/wwf-new-species-mekong/ index.html

3. Show relationships between organisms.

Slide 10&11: Early Taxonomists

1. Aristotle was the first taxonomist (about 2000 years ago)• Aristotle divided organisms into plants & animals

• He further subdivided them by their habitat -- land, sea, or air dwellers

2. John Ray, a botanist, was the first to use Latin for naming

• His names were very long descriptions telling everything about the plant

Slide 12: ***The Father of taxonomy was****

3. Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778)• He classified organisms by their structure

• He developed

• the binomial nomenclature (2-part name),

• AND

• the 7-level (taxon) classification system

Slide 13&14: Binomial nomenclature = Standardized Naming

• Binomial nomenclature = 2 word naming.

• 2 words = Genus and species

• Words are in Latin or Greek

• Words are italicized in print,

• names are underlined when hand-written.

• The Genus word is Capitalized,

• the species is written all in lower case

Self-Check:

Slide 15 - 23: 7-level (taxon) classification system

Slide 15: Rules for Naming Organisms

• Organisms are arranged into orderly groups based on their similar characteristics, traits / evolutionary relationships

• The genetics (genotype) of an organism determines its physical attributes (phenotype)

Slide 16-18: Classification Groups

• Taxon (taxa-plural) is a category

• The taxon is used to place related organisms together

• There is a hierarchy of groups (taxa) from broadest to most specific

Slide 19: How does the scientific name (binomial nomenclature) fit into the taxon groups?

Slide 20 & 21: Other Examples of Common Organisms and their Classification Groups

Slide 22 & 23: How to remember the order of the taxons (or classification Groups)

Other ways to remember:

o D umb Kids Playing Chicken On Freeways Go Splat

o Dumb King Philip Came Over For Good Sandwiches

o D id King Philip Come Over From Glorious Spain?

Concept Check and Homework:

Read chapter 18.1

Answer the Key Concept questions and be able to Define the Vocabulary words on the top of page 447.