CLASSIFICATION OF

LIVING THINGS
WHY DO WE CLASSIFY THINGS?

Over a million species so far identified

Estimates of up to 30 million species on Earth
Need to organise this biodiversity
Systematics tells us about the patterns in nature,
the way organisms are related, how they evolve
Systematics can be used to identify organisms that
are important to us.
TAXONOMY

the science of describing, naming, and

classifying organisms
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Greek scientist, Aristotle

(384-322 B.C.), was one of
the first scientist to organize
living things
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 divided all known organisms into two

groups:
 PLANTS and ANIMALS
 Aristotle then divided each of these
main groups into three smaller groups.
 Animal Subgroups: Land, Water, Air
Plant Subgroups: Small, Medium,
Large
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Carolus (Carl) Linnaeus

 considered to be the
pioneer of modern
taxonomy.
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 In his book Systema Naturae,

first published in 1735, Carl
Linnaeus introduced a rather
clever way to classify and
name organisms. This system,
now referred to as Linnaean
taxonomy.
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Linnaean taxonomy categorizes

organisms into a hierarchy of
kingdoms, classes, orders,
families, genera, and species
based on shared physical
characteristics.
 The category of phylum was
added to the classification
scheme later, as a hierarchical
level just beneath kingdom.
LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION
DOMAIN

DOMAIN

Archaea Bacteria Eukaryote

KINGDOM
BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE
 Names were based on Latin or Ancient Greek words - scientist
everywhere understood these languages.
 The FIRST word of the Scientific Name (Species Name) is the name of
the genus to which the organism belongs.
 The Genus name refers to the relatively small group of organisms to
which a particular type of organism belongs.
 The SECOND word of the name is the species. (Species identifier)
 The Species name is usually a Latin description of some important
characteristic of the organism.
 When we use the Latin name for an organism, we ALWAYS capitalize the Genus (first part)
but NOT the species identifier (second part).
 We also print the name in Italics or Underline them. For example:
 Acer rubrum (scientific name) - red maple tree (common name) or Acer rubrum
 Acer is the Latin name for Maple (genus)
 rubrum is the Latin word for Red (species)
 OR the name can be abbreviated as: A. rubrum
 Humans are named: Homo sapiens
 Homo because of our large brain and upright posture.
 sapiens because of our intelligence and ability to speak
Felis catus
Jasminum sambac
TASK
 Find a partner
 Choose one plant or animal RUBRICS
locally found in the  Creativity & Neatness-
Philippines 15 pts
 Identify its taxonomy  Correctness of data- 30
hierarchy pts
 Short Bond Paper  Proper citation of
 With pictures sources- 5 pts
 Submission: December
4,2018
MODERN TAXONOMY

 based on evolutionary relationships

 Cladistics
 Phylogenetics
SYSTEMATICS

 is the name for the branch of biology concerned with the

study of the kinds of organisms, their relationships to one
another, and their evolutionary history.
 COMPARING PHENOTYPES & GENOTYPES
Taxonomists compare a new specimen with given characteristics to
other specimens:
 morphology
 anatomy
 behaviour Phenotype
 embryology
 protein structure
 karyotypes
Genotype
 DNA sequence (DNA fingerprints).
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
CLADISTICS

 a method of hypothesizing relationships among organisms

— in other words, a method of reconstructing evolutionary
trees.
 it focuses on a set of unique characteristics found in a
particular group of organisms.
CLADISTICS

The basis of a cladistic analysis is data on the characters, or

traits, of the organisms in which we are interested. These
characters could be anatomical and physiological
characteristics, behaviors, or genetic sequences.
CLADISTICS
There are three basic assumptions in cladistics:
1. Any group of organisms is related by descent from a
common ancestor.
2. Change in characteristics occurs in lineages over
time.
3. There is a bifurcating, or branching, pattern of
lineage-splitting.
ANY GROUP OF ORGANISMS IS RELATED BY
DESCENT FROM A COMMON ANCESTOR.

 all life on Earth today is

related and shares a
common ancestor
CHANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS OCCURS IN
LINEAGES OVER TIME.

 most important
assumptions
 It is only when
characteristics change that
we are able to recognize
different lineages or groups.
CHANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS OCCURS IN
LINEAGES OVER TIME.

 We call the "original" state

of the characteristic
plesiomorphic and the
"changed" state
apomorphic.
THERE IS A BIFURCATING, OR BRANCHING,
PATTERN OF LINEAGE-SPLITTING

 suggests that when a lineage splits, it divides into exactly

two groups
 who hold that multiple new lineages can arise from a
single originating population at the same time, or near
enough in time to be indistinguishable from such an event
 CLADOGRAM

• a branching diagram used in

cladistics to illustrate
speciation and the
relationships between
species by showing the
development and
divergence of clades
CLADOGRAM
KEY FEATURES OF A CLADOGRAM
 HOW TO READ A CLADOGRAM

 This diagram shows a

relationship between 4 relatives.
These relatives share a common
ancestor at the root of the tree.
 Note that this diagram is also a
timeline. The older organism is
at the bottom of the tree.
 The four descendants at the top
of the tree are DIFFERENT
species. This is called
SPECIATION.

Image courtesy of http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_05

Life Sciences-HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
All Images and associated captions courtesy of the UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu.
 Branches on the tree represent
SPECIATION, the formation of
a new species.
 The event that causes the
speciation is shown as the fork
of the “V”.

Image courtesy of http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_05

Life Sciences-HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
All Images and associated captions courtesy of the UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu.
  Species B and C each have
characteristics that are unique
only to them.
 But they also share some part of
their history with species A. This
shared history is the common
ancestor.

Image courtesy of http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_05

Life Sciences-HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
All Images and associated captions courtesy of the UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu.
 Image courtesy of http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_05
Life Sciences-HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
All Images and associated captions courtesy of the UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu.
 A CLADE is a group of
organisms that come from a
common ancestor.
 If you cut a branch of the tree,
you could remove all the
organisms that make up a
CLADE.

Image courtesy of http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_06

Life Sciences-HHMI Outreach. Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
All Images and associated captions courtesy of the UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution:
http://evolution.berkeley.edu.
CONSTRUCTING CLADOGRAMS

 can be constructed based on either a comparison of

morphological (structural) features or molecular
evidence
 Historically, structural features were used to construct
cladograms, but molecular evidence is now more
commonly used
STEP 1: ORGANIZE SELECTED ORGANISMS
ACCORDING TO DEFINED CHARACTERISTICS

 Use
characteristics
that are
developmentally
fixed (i.e. innate)
and not influenced
by environmental
pressures
STEP 2: SEQUENTIALLY ORDER ORGANISMS ACCORDING TO
SHARED CHARACTERISTICS TO CONSTRUCT A CLADOGRAM

 Grouping of organisms may be facilitated by constructing

a Venn diagram prior to developing a cladogram
 Each characteristic will be represented by a node, with
more common characteristics representing earlier nodes
 The species with the least number of characteristics in
common will represent the outgroup (establishes baseline
properties)
STEP 2: SEQUENTIALLY ORDER ORGANISMS ACCORDING TO
SHARED CHARACTERISTICS TO CONSTRUCT A CLADOGRAM
PRACTICE

Characters Shark Bullfrog Kangaroo Human

Vertebrae

2 pair of limbs

Mammary Glands

Placenta
PRACTICE

Characters Shark Bullfrog Kangaroo Human

Vertebrae 1 1 1 1

2 pair of limbs 0 1 1 1

Mammary Glands 0 0 1 1

Placenta 0 0 0 1
VENN DIAGRAM
 Backbone Legs Hair

Earthworm

Fish

Lizard

Human
 Backbone Legs Hair

Earthworm O O O

Fish X O O

Lizard X X O

Human X X X

“yes count” 3 2 1
MONOPHYLETIC GROUP

 a group consisting of:

 a common ancestor + all descendants
of that common ancestor
 TAXA

A B C D E F

monophyletic
group

TIME

common ancestor
(of taxon D, E, & F)

common ancestor
(of taxon A & taxa B-F)

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA

A B C D E F

monophyletic
group

TIME

common ancestor
(of taxon D, E, & F)

common ancestor
(of taxon A & taxa B-F)

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA

A B C D E F

monophyletic
group

TIME

common ancestor
(of taxon D, E, & F)

common ancestor
(of taxon A & taxa B-F)

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA

A B C D E F

monophyletic
group

TIME

common ancestor
(of taxon D, E, & F)

common ancestor
(of taxon A & taxa B-F)

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA

A B C D E F

monophyletic
group

TIME

common ancestor
(of taxon D, E, & F)

common ancestor
(of taxon A & taxa B-F)

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA

A B C D E F

TIME

speciation

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 TAXA
C
A B F
B E CD D A E F

TIME

speciation

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

Cladograms can be “flipped” at nodes, show same
relationships
FIG. 26-13

One can date divergence times with molecular clock and fossils

Drosophila

Lancelet

Zebrafish

Frog

Chicken

Human

Mouse

PALEOZOIC MESOZOIC CENOZOIC

542 251 65.5 Present
Millions of years ago
RELATIONSHIP

 = recency of common ancestry

i.e., taxa sharing a common ancestor

more recent in time are more closely related than those
sharing common ancestors more distant in time.
EXAMPLE:

 Are fish more closely related to sharks or to humans?

 Shark Fish Humans

TIME
 Shark Fish Humans

TIME

common ancestor of
Fish and Humans

common ancestor of
Sharks, Fish, and Humans
 Vertebrata
Osteichthyes

Shark Fish Humans

TIME monophyletic
group
common ancestor of
Fish and Humans

common ancestor of
Sharks, Fish, and Humans
EXAMPLE:

 Are crocodyles more closely related to lizards or to birds?

 Lizards &
Lizards &
Turtles
Turtles Snakes
Snakes Crocodyles
Crocodiles Birds
Birds
 "Reptilia"
Lizards &
Lizards &
Turtles
Turtles Snakes
Snakes Crocodyles
Crocodiles Birds
Birds
 Is “E” more closely related to “D” or to “F”?
Is “E” more closely related to “B” or to “A”?
Is “E” more closely related to “B” or to “C”?
TAXA
C B F E D A
A B C D E F

TIME

speciation

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

 Is “E” more closely related to “D” or to “F”?
Is “E” more closely related to “B” or to “A”?
Is “E” more closely related to “B” or to “C”?
TAXA
C B F E D A
A B C D E F

TIME

speciation

Cladogram or Phylogenetic Tree

Answers: F, B, neither (equally to “B” & “C”)
PARAPHYLETIC GROUP

 Consist of common ancestor but not all descendents

 Paraphyletic groups are unnatural, distort evolutionary

history, and should not be recognized.
 "Reptilia"
Lizards &
Lizards &
Turtles
Turtles Snakes
Snakes Crocodyles
Crocodiles Birds
Birds
“Reptilia” here paraphyletic

"Reptilia"
Lizards &
Lizards &
Turtles
Turtles Snakes
Snakes Crocodyles
Crocodiles Birds
Birds
 (c) Polyphyletic group
(a) Monophyletic group (clade)
(b) Paraphyletic group
 CLADOGRAMS/PHYLOGENETIC TREES WITH
PROPORTIONAL BRANCH LENGTHS

 In some trees, the

length of a branch can
reflect the number of
genetic changes that
have taken place in a
particular DNA
sequence in that lineage

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

 In other trees, branch
length can represent
chronological time,
and branching points
can be determined
from the fossil record

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.