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Classification of Life

Scientists group each separate kind of organism into a species according to the binomial system of nomenclature, which uses two Latin names to designate a separate type of organism.

 

What is Scientific Classification?

Scientific classification is how scientists catagorize  and name plants and animals.

Why do we need scientific classification?

In order to effectively study plants and animals, all scientists need to use the same names.  Using the same names keeps scientists from getting confused about what species is being referred to. Our current day classification system was created by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeaus in 1757; this is what we refer to as Taxonomy.

What is the Linnaean taxonomic system?

The Linnaean taxonomic system is quite useful as a classification system.  Not only does it provide official names for every plant and animal, it also helps scientists understand how objects are related to one another. The Linnaean system is based on a series of nested categories. Each Linnaean name is based on Latin and Greek root words which are often difficult to pronounce.

People that are not scientists use common names. For example, the blues whale is known by two names: 1) Most people call them by their common name: "blue whale" while 2) Scientists use the blue whale's scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus.

How does taxonomy relate to marine mammals?

Marine mammals are animals that are warm-blooded with back bones that live in water.  This information can also be discovered by looking at marine mammal taxonomic classifications.  These classifications allow people to better understand how marine mammals are related to other animals.  The chart below is a sample taxonomic chart for blue whales.

 

Classification Blue Whale Example Explanation
Kingdom Animalia Whales belong to the  kingdom Animalia because whales, have many cells, ingest food, and are formed from a "blastula" (from a fertilized egg).
Phylum Chordata An animal from the phylum Chordata has a spinal cord and gill pouches.
Class Mammalia Whales and other mammals are warm blooded, have glands to provide milk for their off-spring, and have a four-chambered heart.
Order Cetacea Cetaceans are mammals live completely in the water.
[Suborder] Mysticeti Whales that belong to the suborder Mysticeti  have baleen plates (big filters in their mouths) rather than teeth.
Family Balaenidae The family Balaenidae, also called rorqual whales. They have pleats around their throat that allow them to hold lots of water (which contains their food).
Genus Balaenoptera A genus is a group of species that are more closely related to one another than any group in the family. Balaenoptera refers to the genus.
Species musculus A species is a grouping of individuals that interbreed successfully.  The blue whale species name is musculus.

 The above is courtesy of: U.S. Department of Commerce

 

Research Links

Scientific Classification
... What is Scientific Classification? Scientific classification is
how scientists categorize and name plants and animals. ...

Classification of life on this planet
Classification of Life on this Planet. ... As discussed in
the History of Diversity page, the first ...

Classification of the Animal Kingdom
Classification. Why do we classify organisms? The case of the Orkney vole: an ... Alternatively,
take a look at the University of California's Phylogeny of Life. ...

A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR NORTHEASTERN MOSQUITO LIFE CYCLES
... Pratt, HD 1959. A new classification of the life histories of North American
mosquitoes. Proc. NJ Mosquito Exterm. Assoc. 46:148-152.

Diversity of Life: The Five Kingdom Classification Scheme
... Slide 37 of 37. The Bioactive Site Copyright © 1995-2000
Rick Hershberger, Ph.D. webmaster ...


Start your search on Classification of Life.


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