Oceans 11 – Dalesandro
Notes – Taxonomy and Classification
-Taxonomy is the science of classifying living things. We use taxonomy to
separate and identify different fish species in the ocean.
- Organisms are more closely related to each other if their lower taxonomic
divisions match. Organisms are more distantly related to each other if only their
upper taxonomic divisions match.
Example 1: These two fish are closely related, since only the very bottom taxonomic
information is different (genus and species).
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Organism 1 – Trout
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Organism 2 – Char
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Kingdom
|
Animalia
|
Animalia
|
Phylum
|
Chordata
|
Chordata
|
Class
|
Actinopterygii
|
Actinopterygii
|
Order
|
Salmoniformes
|
Salmoniformes
|
Family
|
Salmonidae
|
Salmonidae
|
Genus
|
Oncorhynchus
|
Salvelius
|
Species
|
Mykiss
|
Alpinus
|
Example 2: These two fish are not closely related, since higher taxonomic
information is different (order and family).
|
Organism 1 – Gar
|
Organism 2 – Goldfish
|
Kingdom
|
Animalia
|
Animalia
|
Phylum
|
Chordata
|
Chordata
|
Class
|
Actinopterygii
|
Actinopterygii
|
Order
|
Lepisosteiformes
|
Cypriniformes
|
Family
|
Lepisosteidae
|
Cyprinidae
|
Genus
|
Atractosteus
|
Carassius
|
Species
|
cuvier
|
auratus
|
-A dichotomous key is a written taxonomic tool used to determine where a
particular organism “fits” or belongs to.
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