Classification of Living Things

Flashcards covering the classification of living things based on lecture notes.

Classification

Putting things into groups based on physical and biological similarities; also known as taxonomy.

Taxonomy

The science of naming and classifying organisms.

Binomial nomenclature

A two-term system for naming organisms developed by Carl Linnaeus.

Prokaryote

Organisms whose chromosomes are not enclosed within a nucleus; unicellular, e.g., bacteria.

Eukaryote

Organisms whose chromosomes are enclosed within a nucleus; multicellular, e.g., plants, animals, and fungi.

Hierarchy of Taxonomy

Domain > Kingdom > Phylum > Class > Order > Family > Genus > Species

Kingdom Monera (Prokaryotae)

Unicellular organisms with no nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, or endoplasmic reticulum, and a cell wall; e.g., Escherichia coli.

Kingdom Protoctista (Protoctists or Protists)

Simple organisms which mainly live in water; e.g., algae and protozoa.

Kingdom Fungi

Unicellular or multicellular organisms with cell walls but no chlorophyll; feed saprophytically or parasitically; e.g., mushrooms, molds, and yeasts.

Kingdom Plantae

Unicellular or multicellular organisms with cell walls and chlorophyll; feed by photosynthesis; e.g., pines, mosses, ferns, and flowering plants.

Kingdom Animalia

Organisms without cell walls or chlorophyll; feed heterotrophically; e.g., sponges, corals, crabs, insects, and fish.

Phylum Angiospermophyta

Flowering plants with roots, stems, and leaves; reproduce by seeds inside an ovary within a flower; e.g., corn and wax apple.

Phylum Coniferophyta

Conifers that do not have real flowers; seeds grow inside cones; e.g., pine trees.

Phylum Bryophyta

Mosses and liverworts that live in wet places; have simple stems and leaves, single-celled rhizoids, and reproduce by spores; e.g., liverwort and moss.

Phylum Filicinophyta

Ferns that need water for fertilization but have xylem and phloem; reproduce by spores on the underside of leaves; e.g., tree fern.

Phylum Porifera

Sponges with bodies containing a single cavity; lack tissues and organs; are stationary organisms; e.g., giant barrel sponge and yellow tube sponge.

Phylum Cnidaria

Jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals with a bag or umbrella-shaped body and a mouth with tentacles; e.g., Portuguese man o’ war and Immortal Jellyfish.

Phylum Echinodermata

Organisms with radial symmetry, bodies made of calcium carbonate, and tube feet with suction pads; e.g., basket star and purple sea urchin.

Phylum Mollusca

Snails, slugs, and octopus with soft, moist, unsegmented bodies, a muscular foot, and often shells; e.g., giant African land snail and blue ringed octopus.

Phylum Platyhelminthes

Flatworms with long, flat, unsegmented bodies; e.g., tiger flatworm and tapeworm.

Phylum Nematoda

Roundworms with elongated, round, unsegmented bodies that have pointed ends; e.g., C. elegans and hookworm.

Phylum Annelida

Segmented worms with elongated bodies divided into segments; e.g., ragworms and earthworms.

Phylum Arthropoda

The largest group of invertebrates with an exoskeleton, segmented body, and jointed legs; e.g., insects, crustaceans, arachnids.

Phylum Chordata

Vertebrates with an endoskeleton and a backbone; e.g., birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.