B.8ABC: Taxonomy
Picture Vocabulary
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taxonomy
The science of classifying
organisms into groups or taxa
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binomial nomenclature
Falco berigora The system of naming organisms scientifically
developed by Carolus Linnaeus; consists of
the genus and species names
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kingdom
Kingdom: Animalia
The highest level of organism classification;
contains the greatest amount of species and
the highest biodiversity
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phylum
Phylum: Anthophyta
The level of organism classification that is
below kingdom and above class
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class
Class: Reptilia
The level of organism classification that is
below phylum and above order
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order
Order: Insecta
The level of organism classification that is
below class and above family
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family
Family: Bovidae
The level of organism classification that is
below class and above genus
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genus
Genus: Ursus
The level of organism classification that is
below family and above species;
the first part of the scientific name
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species
U. americanus
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The most specific level of organism
classification that contains only one type of
organism; the second part of the scientific
name
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cladogram
A branching diagram showing the
species divergence at specific points in
ancestral history
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dichotomous key
Organism Plant Algae Animal Conifer Mammal Rep5le A tool used to determine the classification of
an unknown organism through a series of
identifying questions
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homology (homologies)
Two characteristics that are similar
because they originated from a
common ancestor
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ancestry (ancestries)
An organism’s lineage of
descendants
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Kingdom Archaebacteria
Consists of unicellular, prokaryotic
organisms that are found in extreme
environments
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Kingdom Eubacteria
Consists of unicellular, prokaryotic organisms that
are found in almost every environment on Earth;
can be autotrophic or heterotrophic
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Kingdom Protista
Consists of mainly unicellular organisms
that are eukaryotic; can be autotrophic
or heterotrophic
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Kingdom Fungi
Consists mostly of multicellular, eukaryotic,
heterotrophic organisms that feed on
decaying organic matter
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Kingdom Plantae
Consists of multicellular, eukaryotic
organisms that are autotrophic;
high level of biodiversity
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Kingdom Animalia
Consists of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms
that are heterotrophic; live in
a variety of environments
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unicellular
An organism composed of a single cell
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multicellular
An organism composed of many cells
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heterotrophic
An organism that must consume other
organisms for energy
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autotrophic
An organism that can produce its own
nourishment through the process of
photosynthesis
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autotroph
An organism that can produce its own
nourishment through the process of
photosynthesis
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chemotroph
An organism that can produce its own
nourishment through the process of oxidizing
inorganic compounds
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cladistics
A classification system based upon evolutionary
history of groups of organisms
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heterotroph
An organism that must consume other organisms
for energy
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invertebrate
An animal that lacks a backbone or nerve cord
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vertebrate
An animal that has a backbone that
surrounds the nerve cord
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Domain Archaea
The highest level
of taxonomy
containing
prokaryotes that
live and survive in
extreme
conditions
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Domain Bacteria
The highest
taxonomic level
containing
common
prokaryotic
organisms
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Domain Eukarya
The highest
taxonomic level
containing
common
eukaryotic
organisms
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sessile
The property of some animals lacking the
ability to move around
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motile
The ability of animals being able to move
around on their own
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