Objectives
• Explain how to classify organisms.
• List the seven levels of classification.
• Explain scientific names.
• Describe how dichotomous keys help in
identifying organisms.
I. Why Classify?
A. Answering Questions The classification of
living things makes it easier for biologists to
answer many important questions such as:
1. How many known species are there?
2. What are the defining characteristics of each
species?
3. What are the relationships between these
species?
I. Why Classify?
B. Classification
systems are used
to group
organisms in a
logical manner.
C. Taxonomy: The
science of describing,
naming, and
classifying organisms.
Agkistrodon piscivorus
Common names
Water moccasin, cottonmouth, black moccasin, black snake, blunt-tail moccasin, congo,
copperhead, cottonmouth water moccasin, cotton-mouthed snake, gapper, highland
moccasin, lowland moccasin, mangrove rattler, moccasin, North American cottonmouth
snake, North American water moccasin, North American water viper, pilot, rusty moccasin,
saltwater rattler, rattler, stub-tail, stump moccasin, stump-tail moccasin, stump-tail viper,
swamp lion, Texas moccasin, trap jaw, Troost's moccasin, true horn snake, true water
moccasin, viper, water mokeson, water pilot, water rattlesnake, water viper
Critical Thinking Time!
• Think about the different ways humans
classify things. List at least five things that
humans classify.
II. How do scientists classify
organisms?
A. Classification Today: Taxonomists use the
seven-level system to classify living things based
on shared characteristics.
B. Branching Diagrams: On a branching
diagram, several characteristics are listed along
the line that points to the right. Each
characteristic is shared by the animals to the
right of it.
Cladograms
1. Which organism is the closest relative to the common ancestor of
all of the organisms?
2. Which organism shares the most traits with the house cat? The
Hibiscus?
3. Does both the lion and the platypus have retractable claws?
Explain your answer.
4. What characteristics do pine trees have that the mosses do not?
Critical Thinking Time!
1. Which organism is the closest relative to the common ancestor of
all of the organisms?
2. Which organism shares the most traits with the chimp?
3. Does both the mouse and the lizard have fur? Explain your
answer.
4. What characteristics do salamanders have that hagfishes do not?
5. What characteristic does the pigeon have that no one else has?
III. Levels of Classification
A. Kingdoms and Beyond The seven levels of
classification are:
1. Kingdom
2. Phylum
3. Class
4. Order
5. Family
6. Genus
7. Species
B. King Phillip Came Over For Good Spaghetti
Human Classification
• Kingdom Animalia
• Phylum Chordata
• Class Mammalia
• Order Primata
• Family Hominidae
• Genus Homo
• Species H. sapiens
IV. Binomial Nomenclature
A. Naming system
where each species
has a two-part
scientific name.
B. Developed by
Carolus Linnaeus in the
18th century
V. Scientific Names
A. One Species, One Name A scientific name is
always the same for a specific kind of organism
no matter how many common names there
might be.
B. Two-Part Names The first part of a species’
name is the genus name. It is always capitalized.
The second part of the name is the species
name.
V. Scientific Names
C. The first word is the genus
D. The second word is the species
E. The second word is unique to that species.
F. Ex. Homo sapiens
VI. Naming System Rules
A. Scientific name is ALWAYS written in italics
or underlined.
B. The first word is capitalized
C. Then second word is lowercased.
D. Correct ways
1. Homo sapiens
2. Homo sapiens
3. H. sapiens
**What is the other correct way to write it?
Cat species in the same genus
• Chinese Mountain Cat, Felis bieti Jungle Cat, Felis chaus
• Pallas's Cat, Felis manul Sand Cat, Felis margarita
• Black-footed Cat, Felis nigripes Wildcat, Felis silvestris
– Domestic Cat, Felis silvestris catus
VII. Dichotomous Keys
A. What Is a Dichotomous Key? A dichotomous
key is an identification aid that uses sequential
pairs of descriptive statements.
B. Two-Part Names By working through the
statements in a dichotomous key in order, a
person can eventually identify an unknown
organism.
Describe this mammal.
The mammal does not fly.
Has no black mask on its face
Has a hairy tail
The mammal does not have a white underbelly, but it does have broad white
stripes on its back.
VIII. A Growing System
A. Still Discoveries to Make People are still
discovering and classifying organisms.
B. Discovery Unique Organisms Sometimes
new organisms are found that are so different
from other known organisms that new classes,
phyla, and so on must be formed.