Taxonomy

• Science of describing, naming, and classifying organisms.

• Designed by Linnaeus

• Based on morphology (form and structure)– Common name not useful ( ex. Jellyfish)

Hierarchy

• Domain • Kingdom• Phylum• Class• Order• Family• Genus• Species

Binomial Nomenclature

• Two names for every organism

• Based on Latin

• First word-Genus to which the organism belongs

• Second word-Species name of the the organism

Acer- Genus to which the red maple belongs

rubrum- Species description

Three Domain System

• Domain Archea– Single-celled prokaryotes that have

distinctive cell membranes and cell walls

• Domain Bacteria– Single-celled prokaryotes that are true

bacteria

• Domain Eukarya– Eukaryote cells

Taxonomy leads to Phylogeny

• Evolutionary relationships

• Morphology

• Chromosomal Characteristics

• Sequence of proteins and DNA

• Embryological development

• Fossil Record

Systematics

• Modern approach to taxonomy• Analyzes the diversity of organisms in

the context of their natural relationships.

• Two methods – Phylogenetic Diagram or Tree– Cladogram

• A branching diagram showing the evolutionary or ancestral relationships among a group of organism

• May change with new discoveries

Phylogenetic Tree

Cladistics or Cladograms

•Use shared, derived characters as the

only criterion for grouping taxa to see

how closely they are related.

•A clade includes an ancestor and all of its descendants

•Shared characteristic is a feature that all members of a group have in common

•Derived character is a feature that evolved only within the group under consideration. (ex. Feathers are derived for birds)

•An out-group is a group that is distantly related, starting point for comparisons ( choose by determining which has fewer traits in common)

Using Dichotomous Keys

http://www.students.ed.qut.edu.au/n2364379/MDB377/DichotomousKey.html

All in the Family

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/change/family/