The Living World: Diversity and Taxonomy

Flashcards covering biodiversity, nomenclature, binomial nomenclature, taxonomic hierarchy, and systematics as presented in the lecture notes.

What does biodiversity mean in the context of the living world?

The number and variety of living organisms (species) present on Earth.

Approximately how many species are known and described?

About 1.7 to 1.8 million species.

Why is nomenclature needed when talking about living organisms?

To ensure a single universally accepted name for each organism across the world, avoiding confusion from local names.

What is nomenclature in biology?

The process of assigning scientific names to organisms.

Which code governs botanical nomenclature for plants?

International Code for Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN).

Which code governs zoological nomenclature for animals?

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).

What is binomial nomenclature?

A two-word scientific name consisting of the genus name and the specific epithet.

Who introduced binomial nomenclature in biology?

Carolus Linnaeus.

In the plant Mango indica, which part is the genus and which part is the specific epithet?

Genus: Mangifera; specific epithet: indica.

How should scientific names be formatted in writing?

Latinized and written in italics or underlined; genus capitalized and specific epithet lowercase; two-word format.

Where does the author name appear in a scientific name and what does it indicate?

After the specific epithet (e.g., Mangifera indica Linn.); it indicates who first described the species.

What is binomial nomenclature composed of?

Two components: the generic name (genus) and the specific epithet (species).

Define taxonomy.

The science of identifying, describing, naming, and classifying organisms; includes nomenclature, identification, and classification.

What is systematics and how does it relate to taxonomy?

Systematics is the broader study of evolutionary relationships among organisms and includes identification, nomenclature, and classification.

What is a taxon?

A unit of classification or category (e.g., species, genus, family).

What is a species?

A group of organisms with fundamental similarities that are distinct from closely related species.

What is a genus?

A group of related species; aggregates of closely related species.

What is a family?

A group of related genera; characterized by shared features among plants (vegetative and reproductive) or animals.

What is an order?

A higher category; an assemblage of related families that share fewer characters.

What is a class?

A higher category that includes related orders.

What is a phylum and what is the plant equivalent?

Phylum (animals) and Division (plants) are higher categories above class; e.g., Phylum Chordata in animals. Division is used for plants.

What is the kingdom in taxonomy?

The highest traditional rank; examples are Animalia (animals) and Plantae (plants).

What is the basis for placing organisms into different categories in taxonomy?

Knowledge of characters of organisms to identify similarities and differences and assign to taxa.

List the taxonomic placement for Housefly (Musca domestica) from genus to class.

Genus Musca; species domestica; family Muscidae; order Diptera; class Insecta.

List the taxonomic placement for Mango (Mangifera indica) from genus to division.

Genus Mangifera; species indica; family Anacardiaceae; order Sapindales; division (division) Dicotyledonae; angiosperms (Angiospermae).