The document provides statistics on the number of species across different kingdoms of life. It shows that bacteria have the most species at over 4,800, while fungi have the second most at 69,000 species. Plants in total have the third most species, with higher plants having 248,000 species.

2. Viruses
1,000
Fungi
69,000
Protozoa
30,800 Algae
26,900
Prokaryotes
(Eubacteria &
Archaebacteria)
4,800
ALL ORGANISMS: TOTAL SPECIES 1,413,000
Higher
Plants
248,000
Insects
751,000
Other
Animals
281,000

3.  Biologists want to better understand
organisms so they organize them.
• One tool that they use to do this is
classification—the grouping of objects or
information based on similarities.
• Taxonomy is the branch of biology that groups
and names organisms based on studies of their
different characteristics.
• Biologists who study taxonomy are called
taxonomists.

4.  >1 million species named, up to 15 million
more.
 Taxonomy is not new; cultures have been
naming plants and animals around them for
1000’s of years.
 It’s practical to have names.
• The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
developed the first widely accepted system of
biological classification.
• He classified all the organisms he knew into two
groups: plants and animals.

5. “Watch out—there’s a bear behind that rock!
OR
“Watch out--there is a large, furry, four-
legged creature with long claws, a big
mouth set in a short, stout muzzle,
attached to a round head containing
small eyes and short triangular ears
behind that rock!”

6. Q. What is the largest wild felid (cat) in
the United States?
Mountain Lion
Cougar
Panther
Painter
Puma
Catamount

7. All of the above
Puma concolor

8.  Carolus Linneaus (1707 -
1778) a swedish naturalist.
 Devised a two part naming
system known as binomial
nomenclature.

9.  Standard two-part system for naming things.
 In this system, the first word identifies the
genus of the organism.
 A genus (genera-plural) consists of a group of
similar species.
 The second word, which sometimes describes
a characteristic of the organism, is called the
specific epithet.
Linnaeus described and named > 6,000
animals and >4,000 plants using Latin
Scientific name does not replace, but instead
further defines common name

10. • Scientific names should be italicized in print
and underlined when handwritten.
• Taxonomists are required to use Latin
because the language is no longer used in
conversation and, therefore, does not change.
• The first letter of the genus name is
uppercase, but the first letter of the specific
epithet is lowercase.
Passer domesticus
Scientific and common names

11.  Even though the genus and species are
thorough sometimes more is needed.
 Varities are splits of species. Example
peaches & nectarines are both from a
peach tree.
 Subspecies are variations of species that
occur in different regions.

12. May tell you where it was first discovered:
 Didelphis virginiana “2 wombs from Virginia”
 Sylvilagus floridanus “wood-hare of Florida”
Or who discovered it:
 Lepus townsendii “hare” discovered by
“Townsend”

13.  For example, what is a skipjack?
 In Guam, a skipjack is a young trevally
 In Hawaii, a skipjack is a tuna
Caranx melampygus Kasuwonus pelamis

14. Common names can create confusion

15.  Homo sapiens is sapient (wise or aware) man
 But, what is Cocos nucifera?
 the coconut tree
nuc = nut + fera = carrying

16. • Grouping organisms on the basis of their
evolutionary relationships makes it easier to
understand biological diversity.
Modern Classification
• Expanding on Linnaeus’s work, today’s
taxonomists try to identify the underlying
evolutionary relationships of organisms and
use the information gathered as a basis for
classification.
• Taxonomists group similar organisms, both
living and extinct. Classification provides a
framework in which to study the relationships
among living and extinct species.

17. How Living Things Are Classified
• In any classification system, items are
categorized, making them easier to find and
discuss.
• Although biologists group organisms, they
subdivide the groups on the basis of more
specific criteria.
• A group of organisms is called a taxon (plural,
taxa).
• Organisms are ranked in taxa that range from
having very broad characteristics to very specific
ones.
• The broader a taxon, the more general its
characteristics, and the more species it contains.

18. Mnemonic
Kingdom kings
Phylum play
Class cards
Order on
Family fine
Genus green
Specific epithet (species) sofas

19. Taxonomic rankings
• The smallest taxon is species. Organisms
that look alike and successfully interbreed
belong to the same species.
• The next largest taxon is a genus—a group of
similar species that have similar features and
are closely related.

20. • Compare the appearance of a lynx, Lynx rufus,
a bobcat, Lynx canadensis, and a mountain
lion, Panthera concolor.
Lynx Mountain
lion
Bobcat
Taxonomic rankings

21. Place organisms into logical categories
 system must be capable of being used for
information retrieval, so anyone can properly
identify any organism
Place organisms into categories that show
ancestor-descendant relationships

22. Kingdom (Animalia)
Phylum (Chordata)
Class (Mammalia)
Order (Carnivora)
Family (Canidae)
Genus (Canis)
Specific epithet (species) (familiaris)
Scientific name: Canis familiaris

23. THIS IS NOT MY DOG!!!!

24. • The evolutionary history of a species is called its
phylogeny.
Phylogenetic Classification: Models
• A classification system that shows the
evolutionary history of species is a phylogenetic
classification and reveals the evolutionary
relationships of species.
• One biological system of classification that is
based on phylogeny is cladistics.
• Scientists who use cladistics assume that as
groups of organisms diverge and evolve
from a common ancestral group, they retain
some unique inherited characteristics that
taxonomists call derived traits.

26.  Unicellular, Prokaryote
 Either autotroph or
heterotroph
 Cell walls made of
peptidoglycan
 Reproduces by binary
fission
 Lives in Harsh
environments: salty
lakes, hot springs,
anaerobic environments
 AKA–Kingdom Moneran

27.  Unicellular, prokaryote
 Either autotroph or
heterotroph
 Cell walls made of
peptidoglycan
 Reproduces by binary
fission
 Includes common
bacteria: tooth decay,
yogurt production, food
poisoning
 AKA–Kingdom Moneran

28.  Unicellular or multicellular
 Eukaryotic
 Cell walls made of varying
materials
 Autotroph or heterotroph
 About 50,000 species
 Reproduces-asexually
 Examples include:
 Euglena
 Amoeba

29.  Unicellular or
multicellular
 Eukaryotic
 Heterotrophic
 Cells walls made of
chitin.
 Reproduces - asexually
 100,000 species
 Including: toadstools,
mushrooms, puffballs,
rusts or smut

30.  Multicellular
 Eukaryotic
 Autotrophic
 Can reproduce both
ways.
 Cell walls made of
cellulose.
 All but a few are land
dwellers. 350,000
species
 Including:mosses,
ferns, conifers, flower
plants

31.  Multicellular
 Eukaryotic
 Heterotrophic
 No cell walls
 Reproduces
sexually by
meiosis.
 All animals have
some type of
symmetry