Classification Vocab Flashcards
Classification
the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or characteristics.
Taxonomy
the branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematics
Binomial nomenclature
the system of nomenclature in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the specific epithet.
Taxon
a taxonomic group of any rank, such as a species, family, or class.
Genus
a principal taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family, and is denoted by a capitalized Latin name
Family
a principal taxonomic category that ranks above genus and below order, usually ending in -idae (in zoology) or -aceae (in botany).
Order
a principal taxonomic category that ranks below class and above family.
Class
a principal taxonomic grouping that ranks above order and below phylum or division, such as Mammalia or Insecta.
Phylum
a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom.
Division
any subsidiary category between major levels of classification.
Kingdom
the highest category in taxonomic classification.
Domain
a specified sphere of activity or knowledge.
Phylogeny
the branch of biology that deals with phylogenesis.
Characters
a characteristic, especially one that assists in the identification of a species.
Molecular clock
the average rate at which a species’ genome accumulates mutations, used to measure their evolutionary divergence and in other calculations.
Cladistics
a method of classification of animals and plants according to the proportion of measurable characteristics that they have in common. It is assumed that the higher the proportion of characteristics that two organisms share, the more recently they diverged from a common ancestor.
Cladogram
a branching diagram showing the cladistic relationship between a number of species.
Archaea
another term for archaebacteria.
Protists
are a very diverse group of organisms. They are basically all the organisms that don’t fit into the other groups.
Fungus
any of a group of unicellular, multicellular, or syncytial spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.
