Unit Two: Biodiversity
Biology 112
Students should be able to:
Understand the concept of binomial nomenclature as developed by Linneaus and understand its advantages for the scientific community
Outcome:
Classification systems are used to name
organisms and group them in a logical manner
Taxonomy is the study of classification of living things
Organisms are living things that can be assigned a classification based on their physical characteristics
Principles of Taxonomy
Referring to organisms by their common name
can be confusing Scientists have agreed to use a single name
for each species A species is a group of similar organisms that
can breed and produce fertile offspring Latin and Greek are used when assigning
scientific names
Assigning Scientific Names
Carolus Linneaus (1707-1778) developed a two word
naming system called binomial nomenclature for all species
It is always written in italics, the first word is always capitalized and the second word in lower case
The first word indicates the genus (closely related organisms) to which the species belongs
The second word indicates the species, which may give indication about a particular trait of the organisms
Sometimes, there is a third word to indicate a subspecies (which is called trinomial nomenclature)
Binomial Nomenclature
Example of Binomial Nomenclature
Canis lupus is the gray wolf with over 37 subspecies - binomial
One of those subspecies is the domestic dog, which is named Canis lupus familiaris
- trinomial
Do the organisms Ursus arctos and Ursus maritimus belong to the same genus? Same species?
What characteristic do you feel as though the word ‘arctos’ conveys? ‘maritimus’?
Check for Understanding
There are 7 levels that are considered to be
hierachical – from largest to smallest Each of these levels is called a taxon or taxonomic
category Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
Linnaeus’s Classification System
Kingdom – plants and animals
Phylum
Organisms share certain characteristics
One such phylum include mammals, whom belong to Phylum Chordata
Class
Class Mammalia Narrows the
characteristics further In this case, all the
characteristics of the phylum chordata with the addition of warm-blooded, have body hair and produce milk for their young
Order
Similar families are grouped into an order
Order carnivora All the
characteristics of class mammalia with the addition of meat eaters
Family
A group of genera that share many common characteristics
Genus and species
Homo sapien
Textbook – read pages 447-450 and complete
the gudied reading for Section 18.1
Complete question 6 on page 450
Complete the question in the envelope...
Section 18-1 Review – due the end of class
For the remainder of class…
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