Classification: Aims and principles

Classification - Aims And Principles
 Over 1.5 million types of animals and over 0.5 million types of
plants are known to biologists and these are only a small
percentage of the total types estimated to live on Earth.
 They range in complexity from small and simple bacteria to
large and complex human beings.
 Some of them live in sea, some on land; some walk, others fly,
and still others are stationary.
 Each has its own way of life i.e :
 getting food
 avoiding unfavourable environmental conditions
 finding a place to live
 reproduction

 When there are so many diverse kinds of organisms, it
becomes difficult to learn about the characteristics of each.
 To study such a large collection, biologists classify the
organisms into groups and subgroups and for this task they
require some system.
 Biological classification is a method by which biologists
divide organisms into groups and subgroups.

Aims of Classification
Taxonomy: (Greek, Taxis= Arranged, Nomes= Law)
 “ The branch of biology which deals with classification is called
taxonomy”
Systematics:
 “ The branch which deals with the evolutionary history of
organisms is known as systematics.”
 The main aims of both these branches are;
 To determine similarities and differences among organisms
so that they can be studied easily.
 To find the evolutionary relationships among organisms.

Basis of Classification
 Classification is based on relationship amongst organisms and
such relationship is got through similarities in characteristics.
 These similarities suggest that all organisms are related to one
another at some point in their evolutionary histories.
 However, some organisms are more closely related than others.
 For example sparrows are more closely related to pigeons than
to insects.
 It means that the former two have common evolutionary
histories.

 When biologists classify organisms into groups and subgroups,
the similarities are seen in external and internal structures and
stages of development.
 Modern genetics provides another type of information to
taxonomists.
 The similarities and differences in the DNA of two studied
organisms can be used for getting idea about similarities and
differences in their structures andfunctions.

Taxonomic Hierarchy
“ The groups into which organisms are classified are known as
taxonomic categories or taxa (singular “taxon”).
 The taxa form a ladder, called taxonomic hierarchy.
 All organisms are divided into five kingdoms.
 So kingdom is the largest taxon.
On the basis of similarities, each kingdom is further divided
into smaller taxa in the following way:
 Phylum (Division: for plants and fungi): A phylum is a group
of related classes.

 Class: A class is a group of related orders.
 Order: An order is a group of related families.
 Family: A family is a group of related genera.
 Genus: A genus is a group of related species.
 Species: A species consists of similar organisms.
 Members of lower taxon resemble one another more
than do the members of a higher taxon.
 Table 3.1 illustrates the classifications of humans (Homo
sapiens) and pea (Pisum sativum).

Table 3.1: Simple classification of two organisms
Taxa Human Pea
Kingdom Animalia Plantae
Phylum Chordata Magnoliophyta
Class Mammalia Magnoliopsida
Order Primates Fabales
Family Hominidae Fabaceae
Genus Homo Pisum
Species H. sapiens P. sativum

Species - The Basic Unit of Classification
 Species is the basic unit of classification.
 A specie can be defined as :
 “A species is a group of organisms which can interbreed
freely among them and produce fertile offspring, but are
reproductively isolated from all other such groups in nature.”
 Each species possesses its own distinct structural, ecological
and behavioural characteristics.

 In the definition of species we must
emphasize “in nature” because two
organisms related to two different but
closely related species can cross-breed
under artificial conditions.
 In such unnatural crosses they produce
infertile offspring.
 For example, a cross between a male
donkey and a female horse produces an
infertile offspring i.e. mule (Figure)
Figure :
Taxonomic hierarchy

Figure : Infertile mule
 The criteria of interbreeding
cannot be used for species
recognition in organisms who
reproduce asexually and do
not interbreed with one
another (for example many
unicellular organisms).

Classification: Aims and principles

Classification: Aims and principles

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Classification: Aims and principles