What is a Species?

Question 1

Carl Linnaeus

Answer 1

Swedish naturalist who is the founding father of modern taxonomy

Question 2

Taxonomy

Answer 2

Science of naming and organizing organisms into related groups

Question 3

Binomial name

Answer 3

name that consists of 2 parts: Genus species and it it italicized

Question 4

Is the binomial name ever shared between 2 different species?

Answer 4

NO

Question 5

Rule of Priority

Answer 5

Once a species has officially been given a binomial name, the name cannot be changed unless it turns out that the organism is not really a new species

Question 6

What must be done in order to name a new species?

Answer 6

The biologist must have the holotype and the biologist must publish a peer-reviewed description of the characteristics that make the new species unique.

Question 7

Holotype

Answer 7

A physical example of the new species and it must be kept at a research instutution or museum so that other scientists may study it and be able to verify it as a distinct species and compare it to others.

Question 8

Does a holotype have to be a complete specimen?

Answer 8

No it can be a parical fossil

Question 9

Interspecific variation

Answer 9

Indivisuals that differ in morphology because they belong to different species

Question 10

Intraspecific variation

Answer 10

Indivisuals that belong to the same species but have different morphologies

Question 11

What are different types of inttraspecific variatin?

Answer 11

• Sexual dimorphism
• Ontogenic variation
• Indivisual variation
• Toxonomic variation

Question 12

Sexual dimorphism

Answer 12

Male and females of the same species having different physical features (they look different)

Question 13

Ontogenic variation

Answer 13

Variation that you see between young indivisuals of a species versus the older indivisuals of the same species

Question 14

Indivisual variation

Answer 14

The normal variation that exists amoung indivisuals of a given species (size, colour, etc)

Question 15

Taphonomic variation

Answer 15

Taphomonic processes such as plastic deformation change the shape of a bone

Question 16

Biological species concept

Answer 16

Defines a species as a group of organisms that can successfully interbreed (cannot be applied to organisms that reproduce asexually)

Question 17

Population

Answer 17

Any group of organism that live in the same geographic area and interbreed (one species)

Question 18

Define species using the word populaion.

Answer 18

One or more populations can make up a single species

Question 19

Morphological species concept

Answer 19

Defines a species as a group of organisms that share a certain degree of physical similarity

Question 20

Lumpers

Answer 20

Paleontologists who require more differences before they consider 2 species are distinct

Question 21

Splitters

Answer 21

Paleontologists who require fewer differences before they consider 2 species to be distinct

Question 22

Describe the Holotype of Hesperonychus.

Answer 22

The pelvis fossil that eas fused together indivating it was fully grown but it was very small and had otherunique features that made it differ from other theropod dinos