CLASSIFICATION

1. Classification is the grouping of organisms into groups based on ____________ or features. These features may be visible, or known.

2. Visible differences that are used to separate organisms into various groups include

a. Shapeb. Body structure

i. Two / three body s__________ii. Presence/absence of limbsiii. Number of l_______

c. Body coveringi. F______ii. S_______iii. F_________iv. hair

d. Method of locomotioni. Swimmingii. Flyingiii. Crawlingiv. Walking

3. Known features that are used to separate organisms into various groups include

a. Body temperatureb. Reproduction

i. Live birthii. Lays eggs

c. Respiratory organsi. Gillsii. Lungsiii. Tracheaiv. B_____ l______

4. Place the following into groups based on VISIBLE differences.

Use the following as guidelinesa. feathers / no feathers __________________________________

b. scales / no scales _____________________________________

c. legs / no legs _________________________________________

d. fins / no fins __________________________________________

5. Use KNOWN features to separate the same organisms. Use the following as guidelines

a. Warm blooded / cold blooded ______________________________

b. Moist skin / dry skin ____________________________________

c. Gills / no gills _________________________________________

d. Lays eggs / give birth to live young _________________________

6. Each feature can be further divided to separate the organisms into smaller categories. EG. “lays eggs” can be further divided into “lays eggs on land” and “lays eggs in water”/ eggs with soft, leathery or hard shells.

7. From the question above (d) fish, lizard, frog and pigeon lay eggs. a. Which lays eggs on land? _______________________________b. Which lays eggs in water? _______________________________c. Soft _______________, leathery __________, hard _________

Organisms are classified into groups

Different types of organisms can be identified based on their characteristics. Biologists group organisms based on the characteristics that they share. There are five main groups into which all organisms are placed. These groups are called _____________.

The five ___________ are

1. Prokaryotae (bacteria)2. Proctotista (amoeba)3. Fungi (mushrooms)4. Plantae5. Animalia

Within each kingdom organisms are grouped into phyla (singular phylum) and then classes.

Kingdom Animalia (animal)

Phylum

Annelida Mollusca Echinodermata Porifera Cnidaria Arthropoda Chordate

Class

Arthropodao Crustacean o Diplopodao Chilopodao Insecto Arachnida

Chordatao Pisces (fish)o Aves (birds)o Reptilia (reptiles)o Amphibia (amphibians)o Mammalian (mammals)

Phylum __________

These are corals, jellyfish and sea anemones. They all live in water because their soft bodies will dry out very quickly on land. They have a ring of tentacles surrounding the mouth. The mouth is the only opening in the digestive system – they have no anus.

Characteristics

Body wall made up of only two layers of cells Ring of tentacles with mouth at the centre Only one opening to gut.

Tentacles have sting cells which are used for catching prey

Coral polyp. Many join to make a large colonial organism.

Phylum _________________

These are starfish, sea urchins and sand dollars. They are found in the sea,

Characteristics

Five-part radial symmetry Body wall contains calcareous particles Many have a shell with projecting spines

Phylum _______________

These are animals with jointed legs, but no backbone. They have a waterproof exoskeleton which has allowed them to live on dry land.

Characteristics

Several pairs of jointed legs Exoskeleton

Class ________________

These are crabs, lobsters, and woodlice. They breathe through gills, so most of them live in wet places and many are aquatic.

Characteristics

Have more than four pairs of jointed legs

Breathe through gill antennae

Name some more examples below

crab

lobster woodlouse

Class __________________

These are spiders, ticks and scorpions

Characteristics

Have four pairs of jointed legs

Breathe through gills called book lungs

Spider

Class Myriapods has two sub classes

Class __________________

These are millipedes

Characteristics

Body consists of many segments

Each segment has two pairs of legs

Class ___________________

These are centipedes

Characteristics

Body consists of many segments

Each segment has one pairs of legs

Front segment has a large pair of poison claws

Both have antennae

Class _____________________

These are ants, moths, butterflies, cockroaches, locust, ladybugs, beetles, mosquitoes, bees and flies

Characteristics

Have three pairs of jointed legs

Three body segments Have two pairs of wings Breathe through trachea antennae

Phylum Chordata

These are animals with a supporting rod running along the length of the body. The most familiar ones have a backbone, and are called ______________.

Class Pisces

The fish all live in water with a few exceptions – the mudskipper can spend short periods of time breathing air.

Characteristics

moist scaly skin Have gills Have fins

Class Amphibia

Frogs and toads are amphibians.

Characteristics

Vertebrates with moist scale-less skin

Eggs laid in water, larva (tadpole) lives in water

Adult often lives on land Larva has gills adult has

lungs

Class Reptilia

These are crocodiles, lizards, snakes and turtles.

Characteristics

Vertebrates with scaly skin Lays eggs with rubbery shell Mostly adapted to live on

land

Class AvesThese are birds

Characteristics Vertebrates with feathers Forelimbs have become

wings Lay eggs with hard shells

Homeothermic/____________ Have a beak

Class Mammalia

These are humans, dogs, cats, rats, elephants, rabbits and whales,

Characteristics

Vertebrates with hair Have a placenta Young feed on milk from mammary glands Homeothermic Have a diaphragm Heart has four chambers Have different types of teeth Brain well developed

PLACING ORGANISMS INTO THEIR CORRECT GROUPS

We can use a dichotomous key system that uses a pair of features to classify organisms. They occur in two forms

1. Spider key {flow diagram}2. Number key {pairs of statements}

To decide whether an organism belongs to a particular group you can ask a question that requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. In order to fully classify an organism you need to ask a series of questions.

Below is a simple flow diagram or spider key for classifying vertebrates

Questions

1.

.

Create a spider key and number key to classify the following

1.

2.

3.