The science of classification

Aristotle: Divided organisms into two groups.

Plants: classified them on the basis of structure and size.

Animals: subdivided them on the basis of where they live.

Carolus Linnaeus: Swedish botanist who developed a classification system based on structural features.

Seven taxa

Kingdom: broadest category

phylum

class

order

family

genus

species: most specific; one type of organism

Binomial Nomenclature: two part naming system. Latin.

Genus species

Genus: a noun; always capitalized. May be abbreviated by using only the first letter.

species: an adjective; never capitalized.

Human Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primata

Family: Hominidae

Genus: Homo

Species: Homo sapiens

Monera

prokaryotic; unicellular; autotrophic or heterotrophic; most reproduce asexually; live in all habitats; example: bacteria

Protista

eukaryotic; unicellular; protozoans: animal-like; heterotrophic; algae: plant-like; autotrophic; reproduce sexually or asexually; live in moist habitats; example: amoeba, euglena, diatoms

Fungi

eukaryotic; mostly multicellular; saprophytic: obtain nutrients through absorption; reproduce sexually and asexually; most live in terrestrial habitats; example: mushrooms; puffballs; yeast

Plantae

eukaryotic; multicellular; autotrophic; most live in terrestrial habitats; reproduce sexually and asexually; example: mosses; ferns; conifers; flowering plants

Animalia

eukaryotic; multicellular; heterotrophic; live in terrestrial and aquatic habitats; most reproduce sexually; example: sponges, worms, starfish, frogs, snakes, birds, dogs

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