GI: Classification of Organisms Flashcards
Phylogeny
The study of evolutionary history of groups of organisms.
What does a phylogenetic tree show?
Organisms which have evolved from common ancestors
Taxonomy
The science of classification - grouping together related organisms.
How many taxons are used to classify organisms?
8
What are the three domains?
Eukarya, bacteria and archaea
List the taxa used to classify organisms:
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
What nomenclature is used for classification?
Binomial system
Describe the binomial system:
First part = genus + capital letter
Second part = species + lower case
Written in italics or underlined if handwritten
Why is courtship behaviour carried out?
To attract mates of the right species
Why is it important that courtship behaviour is species specific?
Prevents interbreeding and makes reproduction more successful.
Why can courtship behaviour be used to help classify species?
Because courtships are species specific.
The more similar the courtship behaviour, the more closely related species are.
