Classification of living organisms

• Living organisms are classified into groups depending on their structure and characteristics
• The classification system was developed in the eighteenth century by Carl Linnaeus
• The first division of living things is into one of five kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protists, and prokaryotes
• Living things can be ranked according to: phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species
• Phylum follows Kingdoms and includes organisms like Chordata, Arthropod, and Annelids
• Class is an additional sub-division, for example, mammals are divided into Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Fish, and Reptiles
• Order follows class, for example, mammals can be further divided into Carnivores, Primates, etc
• Orders are broken down into families, for example, carnivores can be divided into Canidae and Felidae
• Genus is further sub-divided, for example, the Felidae family can be divided into Acinonyx, Panthera, Neofelis, and Felis
• Species is the final classification stage, for example, the genus Panthera can be divided into Panthera leo and Panthera tigris
• The binomial system of naming species uses Latin words, with each name having two parts: genus and species
• For example, human beings belong to the genus Homo and our species is sapiens, so the scientific name is Homo sapiens
• Linnaeus' original ideas have been adapted and accepted, allowing new species to be included in the classification system
• Originally, Linnaeus couldn't distinguish between different types of organisms like algae, lichens, fungi, mosses, and ferns
• Advancements in technology allowed for more detailed examination of organisms and the development of Linnaeus's classification system