Classification and taxonomy

    Cards (36)

    • The classification system is based on the evolutionary relationships between organisms.
    • Biologists have devised ways of classifying organisms according to their similarities and differences.
    • The classification system puts animals into taxons, known as taxonomy.
    • Biochemical studies look at substances found in the living organisms and the processes occurring within them.
    • Immunological comparisons look at the amino acids formed by the species and the nucleotides in the formation of them.
    • The goal of classifying is to place an organism into an already existing group for it, based on its resemblances to and differences from known forms.
    • A hierarchy of categories is recognised in taxonomic classifications.
    • Taxonomic Groups according to Linnaeus method: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
    • Kingdoms are large groups, encompassing millions of kinds of organisms each.
    • All animals are in one kingdom (called kingdom animalia); all plants are in another (kingdom plantae).
    • In the most widely used system, there are five kingdoms, containing animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and protoctists.
    • Phylum (plural phyla) can be further narrowed down into subphyla.
    • The phylum chordata (vertebrate animals) can be divided into three subphyla: Cephalochordata, Urochordata, and Vertebrata.
    • Cephalochordata includes primitive animals such as lancelets, which lack brains but have most other major organs, and are usually filter feeders.
    • Urochordata includes tunicate or sea squirts, which have a simple body structure and are abundant in deep water.
    • Vertebrata includes animals that have distinct skulls, and the wide range of animals that we know and love today.
    • Not all scientists agree with the Linnaeus method of classifying animals.
    • There are different ways that animals can be classified: Phenetic System, using physical characteristics, and Cladistic System, using evolution as a tool for grouping animals.
    • A monophyletic clade of species shares a single common ancestor and also includes all of the descendants of that common ancestor.
    • Pangolins are members of the Pholidota order and there are eight species in three genera: Manis, Phataginus and smutsia.
    • The binominal system is used when using the scientific or Latin name for a species name and subspecies name too.
    • In trees, two species are more related if they have a more recent common ancestor and less related if they have a less recent common ancestor.
    • A phylogenetic tree is a diagram that represents evolutionary relationships among organisms and phylogenetic trees are hypotheses, not definite facts.
    • A breed or variety is an animal or plant within a species having a distinctive appearance and typically having been developed by deliberate selection.
    • The duck-billed platypus is the only existing member of the family Ornithorhynchidae.
    • A species is a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
    • Whales are part of the infraorder Cetacea (suborder) and are mammals that are placental breeders.
    • Cladistics looks at an evolutionary relationship between species and in order for a species to be grouped, they must share a common ancestor and be included in the same taxonomic group.
    • Phylogenetic trees can be drawn in various equivalent styles and rotating a tree about its branch points doesn’t change the information it carries.
    • Gene sequencing is used to provide information on how species are genetically related and their evolutionary lineage.
    • The duck-billed platypus, or ornithorhynchus anatinus, is a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal and exists in the order monotremata, alongside four echidna species.
    • Bats are the only flying mammals and belong to the order chiroptera.
    • DNA hybridization looks at how similar DNA is without sequencing it.
    • The pattern of branching in a phylogenetic tree reflects how species or other groups evolved from a series of common ancestors.
    • Some species have caused much debate when it comes to classifying them, these include Armadillo, bat, duck-billed platypus, whale, pangolin.
    • Armadillos belong to the family Dasypodidae, the only family in the order cingulate.
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