Levels of Classification

_ Levels of Classification A grouping as large as a Kingdom is not very specific and contains organisms defined by broad characteristics.Other levels of classification become gradually more specific until we define an actual specific organism. To classify organisms, we generally start out by grouping them into the appropriate Kingdom.Within each Kingdom, we further subdivide organisms into other groupings. As an example, let’s take the wolf: Kingdom: Animal Phylum: Chordates (This means the wolf had a notochord that developed into its backbone.) Class: Mammals (This means the wolf has hair, bears live young, and nurses them with mammary glands.) Order: Carnivores (This means the wolf is a meat eater.) Family: Canids (This means the wolf has nonretractable claws, a long muzzle, and separate toes.) Genus: Canis (This means the wolf is a member of the dog family.) Species: lupus (This refers to a particular type of wolf known as the European wolf.) The previous categories form the most common scheme for classifying organisms, although other groupings and other categories are often used. The reason for developing a classifying system is so that we have consistency in how we refer to an organism. If we didn’t have this system, then the European wolf described previously would be called wolf in English, lobo in Spanish, and loup in French. This leads to confusion and a loss of scientific accuracy. Here is an easy way to remember the terms used in this classification scheme: Kings Play Cards On Friday, Generally Speaking. If you take the first letter of each word in the sentence and apply it to the proper term in the classification scheme, you will get the following: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species _ Binomial Nomenclature The system illustrated here is based on a system developed by Carlos Linneaus. It is called binomial nomenclature because in this system, any organism can be positively identified by two Latin words. The other words used previously illustrate where the named organism fits into the whole scheme, but it is only the last two, the Genus and species words, that specifically name an organism. The Genus name is always capitalized and written in italics, whereas the species name is written lowercase but also in italics. Thus, the European wolf is Canis lupus, Canis familiaris is the common dog, Felis tigrina is a tiger, Felis domesticus is a common cat, and humans are Homo sapiens. How to Scheme