BIODIVERSITY

CLASSIFICATION OF
ORGANISMS
• Taxanomy is a branch of Biology concerned with
identifying, describing and naming organisms.
• Taxanomy: a systematic method of classifying
organisms based on their similarities in their
characteristics.
• Universal system of classification is necessary to
enable communication among scientists and
allows information about particular organisms to
be retrieved readily.
 KINGDOMS - MONERA 5
• Consists of prokaryotic organisms
• Unicellular. Have cell walls but lack of
membrane bound nuclei and organelles
• Can be photosynthetic and non-
photosynthetic
• Examples: bacteria and cyanobacteria
(blue-green algae)
 Kingdoms-Protista 5
• Includes a variety of unicellular and a few
multicellular eukaryotes such as algae and
protozoa.
• Their nuclei and organelles are
surrounded by membranes.
• Can be either heterotrophic or autotrophic
or both.
• Examples: Amoeba sp., Paramecium sp.,
Spirogyra sp. etc
PROTISTA
 FUNGI
• Heterotrophic multicellular eukaryotes
• Some fungi are unicellular
• Cell walls of fungi contain chitin
• Main bodies consist of a network of
thread-like hypae called mycelium. They
do not contain chlorophyll. Examples:
moulds (Mucor sp), mushrooms and
yeasts
FUNGI
FUNGI
 KINGDOMS-PLANTAE 5
• Includes all green plants
• Immobile, multicellular eukaryotes,
produce their own food.
• Important sources of oxygen, food and
clothing.
• Examples: mosses, ferns, conifers and
flowering plants
 KINGDOMS - ANIMALIA 5
• Animalia are multicellular heterotrophic
eukaryotes
• The cells do not have cell walls
• Examples: invertebrates, mammals,
reptiles, amphibian, fish and birds.
 HIERARCHY IN THE
CLASSIFICATION OF
ORGANISMS
• Living organisms are classified according to
certain basic features.
• They are classified into seven hierarchical
levels: Kingdom, phylum, Class, Order, Family,
Genus, Species (pneumonic: Kangaroos Play
Cellos, Orangutans Fiddle, Gorillas Sing.)
• Each organism is given a scientific name
according to Linnaeus binomial system (latin
names)
 HIERARCHY IN THE
CLASSIFICATION OF
ORGANISMS
• Example:
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordate (vertebrate)
• Class: Mammal
• Order: Primate
• Family: Lemuridae
• Genus: The Lemur
• Species: Catta
• Scientific name: Lemur catta