THE TREE OF LIFE

TAXONOMY
1600
BCE
1500 1700 1800 1900 2000 1000 2000 3000
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TAXONOMY
Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying different life forms. Oral traditions of taxonomy
predate writing and were first used when human ancestors described different food sources, predators,
and medicinal or poisonous plants. The advent of writing enabled more detailed, recorded taxonomies.
3000 BCE
Chinese Emperor Shen
Nung tests hundreds
of herbs for medicinal
value.
1500 BCE
Egyptian wall paintings
and preserved scrolls
classify different plant
species by name.
384 - 322 BCE
Greek philosopher
Aristotle launches the
western tradition of
taxonomy by classifying
plants and animals by their
size, habitat, and methods
of reproduction.
1516 - 1565
Swiss scholar Conrad
von Gesner publishes a
five-volume compendium
of then-known life forms
in the 1550s.
1656 - 1708
French botanist Joseph
Pitton de Tournefort
classifies about 9,000
species in 698 genera.
1707 - 1778
Swedish botanist Carl
Linnaeus publishes The
System of Nature in 1735,
becoming the father of
modern taxonomy. Linnaeus
placed humans among the
primates and used binomial
nomenclature to classify us
as Homo sapiens.
1977
American microbiologist Carl
Woese defines the Archaea
as separate domain of life,
introducing the three-domain
system used today.
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
Scientists refer to a specific life form using its
Genus and species classifications. This naming
technique is called binomial nomenclature.
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Eukaryota
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Proboscidea
Elephantidae
Elephas
Maximus
Elephas maximus
GENUS
ASIAN ELEPHANT
SPECIES
HOMINIDS
Great Apes
C
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M
eth
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M
ethanococcu
s m
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di
M
ethanopyrus kandleri
M
ethanobacterium

therm
autotrophicum
P
yrococcus abyssi
P
yrococcus horikoshii
P
y
r
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s
fu
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M
ethanosarcina m
azei
M
ethanosarcina acetivorans
H
alobacterium
sp. N
RC1
Archaeoglobus fulgidus
Therm
oplasm
a acidophilum
Therm
oplasm
a volcanium
Sulfolobus solfataricus
Sulfolobus tokodaii
Aeropyrum pernix
Pyrobaculum aerophilum
Nanoarchaeum equitans
Shigella flexneri 2a 301
Shigella flexneri 2a 2457T Escherichia coli K12 Escherichia coli O6 Escherichia coli O157:H7 Escherichia coli EDL933
Salmonella typhi
Salmonella enterica
Salmonella typhimurium
Yersinia pestis CO92
Yersinia pestis KIM
Yersinia pestis Medievalis
Photorhabdus luminescens
Buchnera aphidicola Sg
Buchnera aphidicola APS
Buchnera aphidicola Bp
Wigglesworthia brevipalpis
Blochmannia floridanus
Haemophilus influenzae
Pasteurella multocida
Haemophilus ducreyi
Vibrio vulnificus CMCP6
Vibrio vulnificus YJ016
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Vibrio cholerae
Photobacterium profundum
Shewanella oneidensis
Pseudomonas syringae
Pseudomonas putida
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Xanthomonas campestris
Xanthomonas axonopodis
Xylella fastidiosa 9a5c
Xylella fastidiosa 700964
Coxiella burnetii
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Bordetella parapertussis
Bordetella pertussis
Ralstonia solanacearum
N
eisseria m
eningitidis B
N
eisseria m
eningitidis A
C
hrom
obacterium
violaceum
N
itrosom
onas europaea
B
rucella m
elitensis
B
rucella suis
R
hizobium
loti
A
grobacterium
tum
efaciens
W
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grobacteriu
m
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M
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U
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a parvum
M
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M
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M
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a pneum
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M
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a genitalium
S
taphylococcus epiderm
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Staphylococcus aureus M
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Staphylococcus aureus N
315
Staphylococcus aureus M
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Listeria innocua
Listeria m
onocytogenes F2365
Listeria m
onocytogenes EGD-e
Oceanobacillus iheyensis
Bacillus halodurans
Bacillus subtilis
B
acillus anthracis
Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579
Bacillus cereus ATCC 10987
Lactobacillus johnsonii
Lactobacillus plantarum
Enterococcus faecalis
Lactococcus lactis
Streptococcus pneumoniae
R6
Streptococcus pneumoniae
TIGR4
Streptococcus mutans
Streptococcus agalactiae II
Streptococcus agalactiae
Streptococcus pyogenes M1
Streptococcus pyogenes
MGAS8232
Streptococcus pyogenes
MGAS315
Streptococcus pyogenes SSI1
Fibrobacter succinogenes
Chlorobium tepidum
Porphyromonas gingivalis
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Chlamydia muridarum
Chlamydia trachomatis
Chlamydophila caviae
Chlamydophila pneumoniae TW183 Chlamydophila pneumoniae J138 Chlamydophila pneumoniae CWL02
Chlamydophila pneumoniae AR39
Gemmata obscuriglobus Rhodopirellula baltica Leptospira interrogans L1130
Leptospira interrogans 56601
Borrelia burgdorferi
Treponema pallidum
Treponema denticola
Bifidobacterium longum
Tropherym
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Streptom
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Streptom
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Corynebacterium
diphtheriae
Corynebacterium
efficiens
Corynebacterium
glutam
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A
TCC 13032
C
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glutam
icum
M
ycobacterium
paratuberculosis
M
ycobacterium
leprae
M
ycobacterium
bovis
M
ycobacterium
tuberculosis
C
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ycobacterium
tuberculosis
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This phylogenetic tree of life
uses genome sequencing data to
map the relationships between
191 different species in the three
domains of life: Eukaryota,
Bacteria, and Archaea.
All life on Earth shares one
common ancestor, and is thought
to include between 10 million and
30 million different species.
http://itol.embl.de/

LUCA
LAST UNIVERSAL COMMON ANCESTOR
A single-celled organism living
more than 3.5 BYA.
This domain includes all of the plants, animals, and fungi, and some
single-celled organisms. Eukaryotes are distinguished by their complex
cells, which contain a membrane-enclosed nucleus.
The creatures most familiar to us,
animals, are members of the
same kingdom.
Fungi
Amoebozoa
Archaeplastida
Plantae
Chromalveolata
Excavata
Animalia
EUKARYOTA
Humans
Homo sapiens
Our species, primates in the
Animalia kingdom of the
Eukaryota, is thought to have
first evolved in Africa about
200,000 years ago. Genetically,
our closest living relative
is the chimpanzee.
Mosquito
Roundworm
Red
Junglefowl Pufferfish
Mouse
Chimpanzee
These single-celled prokaryotic organisms often
live in extreme environmental conditions. Once
considered to be Bacteria, these microorganisms
are now recognized as a separate domain of life.
ARCHAEA
Pyrococcus furiosus
This species of Archaea, found
in extremely hot conditions near
hydrothermal vents, thrives at
temperatures between 158F and
217F (70-100C). In addition to
its unique habitat, P. furiosus is
also unusual for having enzymes
containing tungsten, a very rare
element in living organisms.
Anthrax
Bacillus anthracis
This deadly bacteria infected
hundreds of thousands of
people and animals every
year until a vaccine was
developed by Louis
Pasteur in 1881.
These single-celled prokaryotic organisms were among
the first life forms to appear on Earth. Often spherical,
rod-like, or spiral in shape, these microorganisms
function without a membrane-enclosed cell nucleus.
BACTERIA