Species concepts

Hierarchical

A species that can be a member of multiple more inclusive categories.

Taxon

a taxonomic group of any rank.

Linnaean classification

hierarchical scheme for classifying species into higher-order groups.

Binomial Nomenclature

two part naming scheme used to identify unique species and indicate their close relatives.

Biological species concept

A species is a group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable offspring. They do not produce viable offspring with members of other such groups.

Phylogenetics

‘Tree thinking’ describes a process of splitting lineages and accumulating modifications.

Operational taxonomic Unit

a pragmatic proxy for a species, usually based on DNA sequencing.

Hybridization

form of hereditary lateral gene transfer.