 Scientists name species and place them in groups  Linnaeus developed systems for both naming species and organizing them into groups  He named 4,000 species, all plants and animals based on appearance

 Today, scientists have named over a million species  They use appearance and DNA to arrange species into groups

 Naming Species  Scientists use a system called binomial nomenclature  developed by Linnaeus  basis of modern taxonomy

Canis familiaris

 Binomial nomenclature- a two part naming system used to identify species  The first part of the name is the genus  The second part of the name is the species

Ursus arctos

Grizzly bear

 Genus- first part of a binomial name that groups together closely related species  Example: genus Felis includes all types of small cats

Felis sylvestris

wildcat

Felis concolor

Mountain lion

Felis pardalis

ocelot

 Species- the second part of a binomial name that groups together living things that are so closely related that they can breed with one another and produce offspring that can breed as well

 Some organisms have the same species name, so it is important to use the combination of a genus and species to be clear

 Rules for writing scientific names:  Entire name is in italics  Genus comes first  First letter of the genus is capitalized  Species comes second  First letter of the species is lowercase

Felis concolor

Mountain lion

 The Classification System also includes several larger groups  7 Levels of Classification:  Kingdom (least specific)  Phylum  Class  Order  Family  Genus  Species (most specific) * Kings Play Chess On Fat Green Stools

Spotted turtle

Clemmys guttata

Animalia Chorrdata Reptilia Testudines Emydidae

Clemmys Guttata

NA Wood Turtle Spotted Turtle European Frostweed

Kingdom Animalia Animalia Plantae

Phylum Class

Chordata Reptilia Chordata Reptilia Spermatophyta Magnoliopsida

Order Family

Testudines Emydidae Testudines Emydidae Violales Cistaceae

Genus Species

Clemmys Insculpta Clemmys Guttata Xolantha Guttata

 The more names an organism shares with another organism, the more closely related they are How do we identify unknown organisms?

 Taxonomists have come up with tools to identify organisms to the most specific level  Dichotomous key- a series of questions each with only 2 answers, that can be used to identify an organism’s genus and species  Field guide- includes paintings or photographs of familiar species and a map of where they live so you can compare what you see to what has already been classified.

 Field Guide – Birds  Field guide - Trees