Classification of Living Things - Animal Kingdom
Classification of Living Things
Classification of living things is called "Taxonomy." This is when scientists put organisms into groups when they have things in common. The first groups they use are the Kingdoms.
There are five kingdoms: ➢ Animal Kingdom ➢ Plant Kingdom ➢ Fungi Kingdom ➢ Protist Kingdom ➢ Moneran Kingdom
Each Kingdom is then split into smaller groups, called Phyla. Each Phylum is split into smaller groups called Classes, each Class is split into Orders, each Order is split into Families, each Family is split into Genera, and each Genus is split into Species.
A Species is a single organism, not a group. Some examples of species would be Southern Leopard Frog, Honey Mushroom, or White Oak.
All seven types of groups go in order from largest to smallest, like this: ➢ Kingdom ➢ Phylum ➢ Class ➢ Order ➢ Family ➢ Genus ➢ Species
As each group is split into smaller groups, the organisms are more and more alike. For instance, a White-tailed Deer, an Eastern Gray Squirrel, and an Eastern Chipmunk are all in the Mammal Class together. This is because they have more in common with each other than with other animals, such as turtles, birds, or insects. However, it is easy to notice that there are some big differences between a deer and squirrels and chipmunks. The White-tailed Deer is in the Aritiodactyla Order (Even-toed Hoofed Mammals), while squirrels and chipmunks are both in the Rodentia Order (Rodents).
In fact, squirrels and chipmunks have so much in common, they are also in the same Family, the Sciuridae Family. However, even though squirrels and chipmunks are very much alike, they still have differences. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is in the Sciurus Genus, while the Eastern Chipmunk is in the Tamias Genus.
Did you notice that these groups have funny names? Scientists from around the world agreed to use the ancient language of Latin to give organisms, and their groups,
Classification of living things is called "Taxonomy." This is when scientists put organisms into groups when they have things in common. The first groups they use are the Kingdoms.
There are five kingdoms: ➢ Animal Kingdom ➢ Plant Kingdom ➢ Fungi Kingdom ➢ Protist Kingdom ➢ Moneran Kingdom
Each Kingdom is then split into smaller groups, called Phyla. Each Phylum is split into smaller groups called Classes, each Class is split into Orders, each Order is split into Families, each Family is split into Genera, and each Genus is split into Species.
A Species is a single organism, not a group. Some examples of species would be Southern Leopard Frog, Honey Mushroom, or White Oak.
All seven types of groups go in order from largest to smallest, like this: ➢ Kingdom ➢ Phylum ➢ Class ➢ Order ➢ Family ➢ Genus ➢ Species
As each group is split into smaller groups, the organisms are more and more alike. For instance, a White-tailed Deer, an Eastern Gray Squirrel, and an Eastern Chipmunk are all in the Mammal Class together. This is because they have more in common with each other than with other animals, such as turtles, birds, or insects. However, it is easy to notice that there are some big differences between a deer and squirrels and chipmunks. The White-tailed Deer is in the Aritiodactyla Order (Even-toed Hoofed Mammals), while squirrels and chipmunks are both in the Rodentia Order (Rodents).
In fact, squirrels and chipmunks have so much in common, they are also in the same Family, the Sciuridae Family. However, even though squirrels and chipmunks are very much alike, they still have differences. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is in the Sciurus Genus, while the Eastern Chipmunk is in the Tamias Genus.
Did you notice that these groups have funny names? Scientists from around the world agreed to use the ancient language of Latin to give organisms, and their groups,