Topic 3: Taxonomy Flashcards

• what is taxonomy

  A scientific discipline concerned with naming and classifying organsims
• What is nomenclature?

  system of rules for naming things
• what are the three problems with common names

  • different names for the same species
  • same name for different species
  • the common name may imply relationships that do not exist
• who came up with the linnaean system of nomenclature

  carl von linné
• what is the linnaean system of nomenclature based on

  resemblances
• higher-level taxa are not comparable between what

  lineages
• what was used to divide all organisms into the three domains?

  DNA sequences
• what are the three domains

  Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
• Eukaryotes consist of various groups of what?

  • protists
• What three kingdoms does eukaryotes contain

  • plantae
  • fungi
  • animalia
• What are the three broadest units of classification (3 domains)

  • bacteria
  • archaea
  • eukarya
• Hierarchical classification provides no what

  No information about the evolutionary relationships between taxa
• A taxanomic unit at any level is called what

  Taxon
• What is the plural world of taxon

  Taxa
• What is a binomial


  Scientific names
• What is a epithet

  The last name in the binomial

  Eg: in Homo sapiens, sapiens is the epithet
• Specific epithet is unique for each species within a what

  Genus
• What can a specific epithet be used in between

  In between genera
• What is the epithet also known as

  The species